Employee Christmas Giving Appeal supports communities in need

South East Water’s Annual Employee Christmas Giving Appeal supported 3 charities this year, providing access to essential food and toiletries, clean drinking water and healthcare, and Christmas gifts. 

Employees participated in the appeal by:

• Donating Christmas gifts and toiletries for families helped by charity Mums Supporting Families in Need (MSFIN), including 800 toiletry items and over 100 children’s gifts.
• Making a financial donation to MSFIN, Food for Change or Purple House, raising $6,900 to help enable their work. 
• Volunteering on the Food for Change farm or packing food hampers for MSFIN and helping out at its warehouse, equating to 250 hours of support.

MSFIN, based in Seaford, provide material aid support for families in crisis across Melbourne – from clothes and toys to non-perishable food.

Food for Change grows fresh produce on its Mount Martha farm and donates it to food organisations locally and beyond through the existing food relief cycle – helping to ensure that people in need can assess fresh, healthy food for Christmas. 

Employee support also extended beyond Melbourne’s south east to Purple House, an Indigenous-owned and run non-profit health service and registered charity that runs vital dialysis services to remote Aboriginal communities throughout Central Australia and beyond. This enables Aboriginal people to remain On Country when receiving their life-saving treatment so that families and culture can remain strong. 

General Manager Strategy and Stakeholder, Karen Lau said South East Water employees worked every day to provide customers and communities with essential healthy water services. 

Photo L-R: Charlotte Davies, Strategy and Fundraising Manager at Mums Supporting Families in Need, accepts employee toiletry donations from Lara Olsen, Managing Director South East Water.