As the holiday season kicks off, staff across Flinders University are spreading some festive cheer by giving back to those in need.

The Flinders Health and Wellbeing Program’s theme for December is ‘The Joy of Giving’, and have put together a list of charities that staff can consider donating to in these difficult times.

Some ideas for giving can be found at each of the charity’s links:

• Hutt St Centre – supporting South Australian people facing homelessness to rebuild their lives.
• NPY Women’s Council – governed and directed by Aboriginal women across 26 desert communities in the cross-border regions of WA, SA and the NT – an area covering 350,000 sq km, delivering health, social and cultural services.
• Womens Safety Services – supports women and their children in South Australia who are experiencing domestic and family violence.
• Doctors Without Borders – an international and independent medical humanitarian organisation delivering emergency medical aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters, and exclusion from healthcare.
• UNICEF Australia– UNICEF is one of the world’s largest children’s charities, working to protect and improve the lives of vulnerable children in over 190 countries.

The College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences has organised a donation bin for Treasure Boxes, a South Australian-based, not-for-profit children’s charity which gifts essential children’s good to families at risk of poverty, homelessness and domestic violence.

Founded by Flinders graduate and Early Career Alumni awardee Rikki Cooke, Treasure Boxes has supported more than 1,333 families, including 2,466 children, since 2015.

To find out about which goods can be donated, click here. A donation bin will be based in the HASS staff kitchen/tea room, and all donations will be collected by mid-December.

If you have larger nursery items, you can drop them direct to Treasure Boxes’ Edwardstown depot, but make sure to check the website first to see what can be accepted.

The College of Science and Engineering will again support Foodbank SA, the largest hunger relief agency in South Australia and Central Australia, which has a mission to feed those in need by redistributing surplus food. Foodbank SA’s most wanted items are:

• Cereal
• Long-life milk (UHT)
• Tuna
• Rice
• Coffee/tea
• Spreads (jam/Vegemite/honey)
• Canned fruit and vegetables
• Pasta/pasta sauce
• Tinned meat or meals
• Baked beans/tinned spaghetti
• Toiletries

For a full list of the types of food you can donate, click here.

Christmas Trees with collection boxes for food items will be located in the Physical Sciences Building outside room 1012, and at Tonsley on Level 3 near the College office reception area. The final day that food items can be donated is this Thursday, 7 December.