For the seventh year, Youth In Action, the youth group of The Greek Orthodox Parish and Community of Burwood and District St Nectarios, has prepared 120 Christmas hampers for refugee families, to be delivered through Metro Assist next week.
The youth held a successful fundraising event, Rock Around The Clock Trivia Night, in November, which raised $3,942 for this important cause, allowing the youth to shop for groceries for the hampers. Parishioners also donated additional groceries and made further donations towards the shopping.
Youth In Action representatives spent five hours last Saturday, sorting grocery donations and then shopping for the balance of groceries needed. The final step was to pack the hampers earlier this week, which saw local youth and other Parishioners, friends and volunteers joining together, with a great spirit of fun and camaraderie to pack the hampers, ready for delivery.
An official Christmas Hamper presentation day for refugee families takes place at Metro Assist next week, with Youth In Action representatives to meet and greet the recipients and help Metro Assist staff hand out the hampers.
“This is definitely one of the highlights of the year for Youth In Action,” Nicole Economos, Youth In Action Coordinator, said.
“Everyone really gets behind this important cause and it’s such a great feeling to know we’re genuinely spreading some love and showing compassion to families who have experienced unimaginable challenges.
“We are so proud to deliver some cheer and share in the true meaning of Christmas with those less fortunate.”
This year, eight volunteers from global bank BNP Paribas also offered their assistance to Youth In Action, to assist with the hamper packing. This was part of the bank’s 1MillionHours2Help program, which sets a target for the bank’s global employees to work a collective total of one million volunteer hours per year, supporting charitable causes.
Including the 2024 efforts, Youth In Action has to date raised funds for and donated a total of 840 Christmas Hampers to refugee families through Metro Assist, as well as about 100 toys each year – a truly remarkable achievement.
