In this increasingly commercialised world where much of our Christmas experience is dominated by Big Business and social media saturation, it’s sometime easy to wonder where the true spirit of Christmas lies, or whether it even exists at all. 

But it does exist – we see it in the reactions of children spending Christmas in refuge, when they wake up on Christmas morning and see presents under the tree, presents they never expected; when their mum is able to cook up a Christmas feast with groceries she’s been given; when they’re able to fall asleep feeling warm and safe and with the knowledge that people care. 

It’s there in the faces of the mothers, choking up with emotion, knowing that despite what family violence had done to their families, thanks to the generosity of strangers, her kids could still experience a happy Christmas.  

That’s the true spirit of Christmas. 

This Christmas, you can bring the gift of hope to women and kids in refuge. 

A financial/cash donation to Refuge Victoria this Christmas, however big or small, will help set a family on the road to recovery. It will provide a mother with groceries to sustain herself and her children during their stay in refuge, and clothes to replace the ones they left behind; it will give her access to the professional support needed to start a new life. It will allow Refuge Victoria to provide a safe, clean home for her family.  

Throughout the year Refuge Victoria receives generous gifts from organisations and individuals, but this Christmas we’re asking for cash donations, and here’s why. 

The needs of individual families are as diverse as the families themselves, and not all donated goods are suitable for every family. Allowing victim survivors to work with us determining what goods and resources will best help themselves and their children is an empowering experience and plays an important part equipping them with the confidence and autonomy required to create a new safer future. 

Every dollar donated to Refuge Victoria goes straight to supporting women in refuge. Yet, the greatest gift from your donation to Refuge Victoria this Christmas is one that cannot be seen: it’s the hope that is planted in the minds of women and children spending Christmas in refuge and the very beginnings of their renewed faith in the kindness of people.  

Please, if you are able, give generously to a family spending this Christmas in refuge.