Salvation Army Qld, other charities hit by drop in donations, robberies

Queensland charities are struggling to keep up with an increase in demand for help as the number of donations received ahead of Christmas plummet.

Drought Angels chief executive Jason Law after the rural charity’s Logan depot was broken into on Sunday, with a truck with $250,000 of presents inside stolen. Picture: David Clark

Charities are struggling to keep up with an increase in demand for help as the number of donations received ahead of Christmas plummet.

Organisations say the cost-of-living crisis has taken its toll on their vital services, and a spate of robberies has only added to the pain.

Salvation Army Queensland has reported being 25 per cent down on last year’s level of donations, just three weeks before Christmas.

Community fundraising manager Robyn Lewis said she was concerned children would go without toys this year because of a shortage of donations.

Drought Angels chief executive Jason Law after the rural charity’s Logan depot was broken into on Sunday, with a truck with $250,000 of presents inside stolen. Picture: David Clark

“So many people (are) struggling,” Ms Lewis said.

“I think people are being very cautious with the pressures and the cost-of-living crisis.

“We have definitely seen that people still giving, but it’s certainly a little bit less than what we usually have and of course, our services are increasing because more people need help.

“So we’re getting stuff in and it’s getting out to the people immediately, which means the turnover of not having enough to give to people is a bit of an issue.”

The Smith Family Queensland general manager Alan LeMay said it had also experienced a reduced level of giving to its Christmas appeal compared to recent years.

“The families we support are being affected more severely than ever, and they are now prioritising rent, food, and utility bills,” he said.

“Many are working more than one job and more hours than ever just to make ends meet.

“And that often means there is often not enough left over for their child’s school essentials.”

The Smith Family Queensland general manager Alan LeMay.

Rural charity Drought Angels said the number of people needing help had doubled with more inquiries coming through.

It comes after a truck with $250,000 of donations for the charity was stolen from a Logan depot on Sunday afternoon.

Drought Angels chief executive Jason Law said: “We’re already needing more donations to cope with the existing trend that we’ve budgeted for.

“So what this means is that anything we’re going to sell and generate income has put a massive dent financially in this.

“We’re still committed to giving farmers money, especially over Christmas time.

“It’s the toughest time for communities around Australia, let alone those living on the land, who also feel isolated at this time.

“It’s really hard to get family together if they don’t already feel isolated.”

Drought Angels chief executive Jason Law after the rural charity’s Logan depot was broken into on Sunday, with a truck with $250,000 of presents inside stolen. Picture: David Clark

The Salvation Army is aiming to raise $25m to support Australians in need, with new data showing almost 48.9 per cent of people who do reach out to a charity this Christmas will be doing it for the first time.

“It’s really different now like we’re seeing mums and dad who have jobs and kids in school,” Ms Lewis said.

“People are having to really tighten higher budgets just to survive.

“And it’s really hard for them to reach out for help as well.

“So we’re getting quite a number of people in some very distressed states who aren’t quite used to asking for help, needing help and that’s also quite challenging.”

Ms Lewis said the Salvos were in the process of figuring out what to do so no one missed out.

“We have to try and figure out what we’re going to do because we don’t want anyone to miss out and we don’t want anyone to struggle,” she said.

“So it really comes down to how can we ask the public for more support so that we can help those families that really are doing it tough this Christmas.”

Originally published as Salvation Army Qld, other charities hit by drop in donations, robberies