By Callum Ludwig
The Healesville Organic Market has provided a grant of $5000 to help ensure HICCI can do their best to provide gifts, support and Christmas dinner to those in need.
President of the Healesville Organic Farmers Market Greg Liney said it was all about putting money back into the community, as part of the market’s goal to be community-oriented, locally and on a broader scale.
“We got to the point of having accumulated quite a comfortable sum of money in the bank account and we have been looking to disperse some of those funds. We saw the article on HICCI’s Christmas appeal in the paper a few weeks ago, and thought we’d respond now,” he said.
“Last year we sent $1500 to the flood appeal in Lismore, and at the moment we are currently in the middle of a project, printing shopping bags for the shoppers who stuck by us during Covid.”
In October, HICCI had concerns about the Christmas appeal due to its drastically-reduced budget and the fear that spare funds or donations might be hard to come by from local residents with the rising cost of living.
Mr Liney said supporting members of our own community who are less fortunate is an important aspect of unity and responsibility.
“One of the things that were very important to us was whoever received the money had an inclusive philosophy, and HICCI is, with the money going towards making sure people don’t feel left out during the Christmas period,” he said.
“It’s a high-stakes period emotionally for people, especially for people who for whatever reason are less fortunate than others. We are not after making our own nest any better or more comfortable, we want to return it to the community.”
HICCI operates in the Healesville and Yarra Glen communities, proving help with services such as transport for aged residents to medical appointments and shopping as well as referrals to other organisations for further support.
Executive Officer at HICCI Alison Gommers said the grant was a huge boost for the Christmas appeal and will ensure it can be a special time for families, given it’s been a rough ride the last couple of years.
“Generally people haven’t had the spare funds to donate and the number of people needing assistance with essentials is increasing. They’ve [Healesville Organic Market] been doing it tough themselves, with Covid over the last two years and the recent rain,” she said.
“We are grateful for the community support and it will be put to good use, providing vouchers, Christmas hampers and gifts. It will make a huge difference and we all need something nice to look forward to.”
The Healesville Organic Market is open every Saturday from 8.30am to 12.30pm at Coronation Park.
