Christmas wishes for almost 240 local children and young people have been placed on Christmas trees at Veritas House offices in Bathurst and Orange, and the local charity is calling on the community to help make this Christmas brighter for these special young people. 

For seven years Veritas House has set up Christmas Wishing Trees in their offices at 98 Keppel Street and 96 Bentinck Street, Bathurst, as well as 29 Sale Street, Orange, with local residents being asked to once again give a gift to children and young people in either Out-of-Home Care, at risk of homelessness or simply experiencing hardship which would not see them receiving a gift.  

“Each year we are overwhelmed by the generosity our Christmas Appeal receives and this year will hopefully see all of the wishes on the trees granted again,” said Jody Pearce, Veritas House Chief Executive Officer.  

“Our Christmas Appeal allows local members of the community to bring joy and happiness into the lives of the children and young people who we support, who have possibly never been given the opportunity to celebrate Christmas and receive a gift,” said Jody. 

There are several ways the community can contribute; with visiting a Veritas House office to collect a gift tag with the wish list of a child from the Christmas tree, being the most popular previously, and then return it by Friday, December 1 with the (preferably) unwrapped gift. Alternatively, supporters can purchase a gift card for a local teenager or make a tax-deductible donation to contribute towards the purchase of a gift for a child via the Veritas House website: www.veritashouse.org.au/events/christmas. 

In addition to the trees at Veritas House, Bathurst businesses Moodie’s Pharmacy in Howick Street and Anytime Fitness in George Street will once again have Veritas tags on their Christmas trees for customers to collect.  2BS and B-Rock are also running their annual Toy Appeal which will also benefit children and young people at Veritas House. 

Veritas House is a not-for-profit organisation that was established in the Central West over 40 years ago and has grown to become one of the largest providers of foster care, youth homelessness and family support services in the region, supporting more than 900 children, young people and families each year.  

Photos provided by Western Advocate.