![Ashmont Anglicare senior coordinator Jasmine Woodland asks the community to help give volunerable families a Christmas to remember. Picture by Taylor Dodge Ashmont Anglicare senior coordinator Jasmine Woodland asks the community to help give volunerable families a Christmas to remember. Picture by Taylor Dodge](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/JEQDf2CFmqVGDcvEsZPwEY/61697efd-e450-467b-87da-b57aa6748575.jpg/r0_0_4032_3024_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Jasmine Woodland has no idea how she would explain to a child who believes in Santa Claus why some children get gifts and others don't at Christmas time.
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It is why she, senior coordinator at Anglicare Ashmont, is doing everything in her power to ensure everyone gets a Christmas this year, regardless of the struggles they are facing.
Mrs Woodland is driving the annual Anglicare Ashmont Christmas Gift Drive this year which will provide family hampers and children's gifts to a hundred local families this year for the festive season.
"At the moment we have a list for 100 hampers and we have just about filled that list. Once that's filled people go on a waiting list," she said.
With inflation high and wages stable, Mrs Woodland said families already facing struggles are finding it even tougher this year.
"The cost of living, the rise of living, fuel, the cost of food, things like this are already putting extra pressure on vulnerable families," she said.
"These donations are important to support those families to at least have a nice Christmas when they're already suffering."
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"It's been really lovely, the support we get grows and grows every year but we do understand that it's hard for everyone else as well," Mrs Woodland said.
"The more people we have supporting the drive the less pressure there is on everybody."
Community members can support the drive by donating Christmas hampers, which they can get a list from the Ashmont Community Resource Centre for, or they can donate unwrapped Christmas goods and brand-new children's toys.
"We have a Christmas hamper list. We ask for the children's ages and genders and we try and give all children gifts up to the age of 16," Mrs Woodland said.
"We ask people if they are donating to think about what they might like for Christmas- so having a Christmas cake, some tinsel and festive napkins- to have some of those festive materials give them the same joy everyone else is having.
"No child wants to wake up and not have Christmas, it's horrible and it breaks my heart to think that anyone is waking up with no Christmas cheer."
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