Orange residents urged to help Veritas House bring joy to young people in need

Staff at Veritas House, one of the largest providers of foster care and youth homelessness services in the region, have places gift suggestions on Christmas trees in their offices in Orange and Bathurst.

People are asked to purchase a gift for a child or young person who is at risk or experiencing homelessness or unlikely to receive a gift this year due to hardship.

Gift-givers are being asked to select a tag and bring it back over the next three weeks with their preferably unwrapped gift.

"The number of young people Veritas is supporting to either move from the Out-of-Home Care system and into independent living, or who are living with Foster Carers, is currently at its highest level for our agency," said Veritas House CEO Jody Pearce.

"Added to that, the Christmas period is also one of our busiest at our youth refuges in Orange and Bathurst; so we are hopeful the local community will get behind our Christmas Appeal again this year."

For people keen to support the appeal but who don't want to attend Veritas or visit shopping centres, they can call Veritas on 1300 01 1973 and staff will provide details for a child's wishlist so the gift can be purchased online and delivered to Veritas.

Alternatively, residents can simply make a tax-deductible donation, and Veritas caseworkers will organise to purchase a child's gift.

"Last year we had a number of parents bring their children in to select a tag and purchase a gift, so they could learn the importance of giving gifts, not simply receiving," Ms Pearce said.

"We also had a number of businesses in the region replace their office Kris Kringle with buying gifts for our clients, which was a huge contribution towards filling our tree and providing gifts to all of the children in our care."

"We are hoping local residents and businesses will not be put-off by concerns about Covid and will use one of the options we have available to assist us to bring some joy into the lives of special local children this Christmas, so that we can make Christmas Day a special day the children will truly remember," she said.

Veritas House is a not-for-profit organisation that was established in the Central West nearly 40 years ago and it now supports more than 800 children and young people each year.