WA churches discover they are better together at Christmas
BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE
Following the success of the Love Rockingham Christmas Appeal, a group of churches in Rockingham, Western Australia, is planning how to serve the community next.
The Rockingham Salvation Army, together with Paradox Church and The Crew Rockingham, mobilised more than 10 additional church and para-church organisations to create 1200 Christmas hampers for local families in need in December 2024, raising close to $65,000 to cover costs. A total of about 360 volunteers from across the community collaborated on the drive.
“Love Rockingham’s first initiative was a powerful demonstration of how a community can come together to support its most vulnerable members,” the team said in a press release.
“The joy and smiles on the faces of the recipients were truly overwhelming. For many, these hampers represented more than just essential items; they symbolised the compassion, kindness, and love of their neighbours.”
Through the combined support of church groups, individuals, businesses and the City of Rockingham, the team collected 29,000 individual products, including 5000 gifts for children.
The drive included bags of fresh vegetables, Christmas foods, meat vouchers and at least two gifts for each of the 1995 registered children.
“That’s probably the most church partnership we’ve ever seen in our 14 years [as corps officers],” Corps Officer Captain Darrell Wilson said.
The team is now looking to the future to mobilise volunteers for new projects.
With the Christmas drive raising close to $10,000 more than the original goal of $55,000, this money was allocated to back-to-school supplies for children in the Rockingham region.
