Whyalla community digging deep to provide support for families experiencing poverty this Christmas

A regional SA city is binding together to help the most disadvantaged members of their community this Christmas as cost of living prices skyrocket.

Families are set to feel the squeeze this Christmas as living expenses continue to outpace wage increases, with one SA town rallying support to make sure disadvantaged kids don’t miss out on this year’s festivities.

With many families living in poverty expected to have to make hard decisions this Christmas, a collective group of Whyalla businesses and citizens are joining forces to try help alleviate some of the duress often associated with the festive season.

The Steel City Toy Run is set to take place this Saturday throughout the streets of Whyalla and will see collections taken for toys and non-perishable food items in an effort to try make sure as few children as possible will wake up without toys and food this year.

One of the event’s organisers, Emily Rawlings, has watched the annual event grow each year as more people get involved with the donations.

“We’ve been doing the toy run for five years, there’s two in Whyalla but we do the toy run through the streets, the other is on the day of the pageant,” Ms Rawlings said.

“The council actually cancelled the pageant so we decided to go through the streets.

“It’s important to remember that some kids don’t get toys because their families are working so hard to put food on the table.

“We’re excited to follow up from last year where the trailer was actually overflowing, we had to get people in the cars behind to carry the toys.”

Whyalla CFS members gather for the city's annual toy run which is now in its fifth year. Photo: Greg Sketcher.

Fellow event organiser Darrel Risborg echoed this sentiment.

“This year we’re not just collecting toys, we’re collecting perishable foods as well for the people in need,” Mr Risborg said.

“The bigger the haul, the bigger the smile on the kids faces on Christmas Day.”

A large motorcycle contingent makes up the Steel City Toy Run. Photo: Greg Sketcher.

This year will be the second time the Whyalla CFS has been involved in the parade, an event captain Shannon Doble said he was proud to be a part of.

“I think it’s something good for us to be involved with, we’re a community organisation ourselves and it’s something we can do to help people in need,” Mr Doble said.

“We’ll sound the horn for people as we go past, we can’t use the lights as we’re on open roads but we’ll certainly beep the horn and be waving.

“Usually we’re gearing up to face fire season at this time of year so it’s good to be able to set some time aside to help the community.”

The Whyalla Steel City Toy Run takes place Saturday 5th of November throughout the streets of Whyalla, beginning and ending at Steel City Tyres.

The event is a collaboration between Whyalla Organised Rides, Steel City Tyres, Centacare, Casa De Pan, Office National, Azzopardi Butchers, On-site, Shell Playford and the Middleback CFS.