The Tenterfield Salvation Army and a band of volunteers are getting ready for the army’s big Red Shield Appeal on Sunday with doorknocking and a charity golf day, just as a new survey reveals that Australia being the ‘Lucky Country’ is an ideal of the past.
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The new survey shows Australian children are skipping meals and are unable to afford medication when sick, with 69 percent of the 1380 Salvation Army clients surveyed admitting that getting enough food to eat is a daily challenge, and 66 per cent report living under extreme housing stress.
Local army representatives Joel and Yolande Soper are doing all they can to help, raising funds over the weekend to help support the operation of their local welfare centre. Locally the Savos also run the Op Shop behind Coles and both junior and senior youth groups and boxing programs and Mainly Music for the littlies.
Anyone in distress can also contact the Salvation Army’s call centre on 1300 371 288 to reach counsellors.
Mrs Soper said while the army invests more into the local community than is collected, every bit helps as the couple and their volunteers work to help the disadvantaged in the community. Mrs Soper will be coordinating teams to knock on doors in assigned areas of the community, and said she can always do with more volunteers as it lightens the load for everyone.
While church groups, service organisations and high school students have put up their hands to help, anyone else with a few hours to spare is invited to come along to the Salvation Army Hall at 9am.
Meanwhile husband Joel will be on the fairways at the Tenterfield Golf Club for the annual Red Shield Appeal golf day. It’s $25 to be part of a 4-person Ambrose, and there’s a shotgun start at 11.30am. Contact Mr Soper on 0410 693 593 for more information, or just get along to the golf club on the morning.
Non-golfers are welcome (and they’re well-supported in the Ambrose format, where everyone continues on from where the best ball lands) and people can be put into teams. Tenterfield Lions Club will be offering a barbecue lunch.
The Salvation Army’s Communications and Fundraising Director Leigh Cleave said hard times for some families can simply be just one pay cheque away, with many New South Wales families doing it tough and relying on The Salvation Army for support.
“As a country, we have never been richer,” she said, “but these gains and opportunities have not been distributed fairly, with millions of Australians living on the margins.
“We like to think of Australia as the land of the ‘fair go’, but unless people are willing to go the extra mile to help those in need, this idea will become a relic of the past.”