HANDS OF HOPE - CHRISTMAS 4 KIDS
Christmas 4 Kids is the signature event of Hands of Hope, the community arm of Hope Church Brisbane. Christmas 4 Kids is the biggest community Christmas event for children in the southwestern suburbs of Brisbane. It has been running in this area since 2003 and enjoys a strong reputation as a safe, fun and wholesome event for children. This year, 450 children attended the event.
Over the years, we have been able to touch hundreds of families from disadvantaged backgrounds with the joy of Christmas. We have also watched some of the children grow up over the years. It has brought us much joy to be able to keep in touch with the same families and reach new ones with God’s love.
A fresh start after the Brisbane floods
The floods that swept across parts of Queensland also swept away all the wonderful resources and materials we have been using for Christmas 4 Kids, including a few thousand dollars worth of presents we had kept hoping to use for this year’s event! Praise God we managed to claim some funds back through insurance!
The floods may have (literally) dampened everything we had; it did not dampen the spirit of the church or the C4K organizing committee. The committee was even more determined to run an event that was better and more dynamic than ever! Thanks to the generosity of Hope Church and sponsors such as the Brisbane City Council, we were able to make this event happen again.
We had more than enough volunteers (almost 300) from Hope Church Brisbane and Ipswich to bring this event alive once again this year! Our volunteers have an excellent reputation amongst the community members – and the kids really love them!
We also enjoy the support of several politicians including the Hon. Annastacia Palaszczuk, Councillor Milton Dick, Councillor Angela Owen-Taylor, and Bernie Ripoll this year. We are always thankful for their support.
Local service agencies excited to partner with us
This year we had seven service agencies join us to run activities for the children and to promote their services to the community members. They were all blessed by the dedication and energy of the volunteers and the excellent program for the kids that we offer at the event. A few service agencies have been involved at Christmas 4 Kids for a number of years. For four of the agencies, it was their first time, and they have told us they would like to keep coming back!
Link to Unidus
This year, with the help of members of the Family group of Hope Church, we conducted a survey amongst the parents at Christmas 4 Kids. We found out that many families would like more support with child minding, programs for the children after school and during holidays. Parents also informed us that financial issues, concerns about drugs, alcohol and crime were what parents were most worried about. Parents also told us that there is a lack of safe spaces and programs for children and young people in the area.
When we told the families about our Unidus Community Centre, they told us they were interested and looking forward to attending programs and activities there in the future!
We praise God for the opportunities to continue to build relationship with families and service agencies in this local area. We believe God will do great things when Hope Church into Unidus Community Centre in the future!
