THE annual Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal has officially kicked off, with the Ararat store setting an ambitious goal for the 2024 season.<\/p>\n
Store Manager Andrew Bolzon has set a challenge for the community, aiming to more than double last year\u2019s donations.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, we collected 137 gifts. This year, we\u2019re aiming for 350, which we hope to hand over to Captain Greg Turnbull of the Salvation Army.\u201d<\/p>\n
The appeal comes at a time when many are feeling the pressure of rising costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cTimes are tough, so anything we can do to give back will be greatly appreciated,\u201d Andrew said.<\/p>\n
In addition to gift donations, every sale of a Kenzie Bear will see $2 donated directly to the Salvation Army.<\/p>\n
The appeal has already seen some early contributions, and gifts will be accepted until December 24.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an amazing event, and I feel honoured to be part of it,\u201d Andrew said.<\/p>\n
Greg Turnbull from the Ararat Salvation Army emphasised the importance of the appeal, especially given the increasing cost of living.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids are just happy to get something,\u201d Captain Turnbull said.<\/p>\n
While toys are always welcomed, Captain Turnbull encouraged donors to consider gift cards as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to receive toys for the younger kids, but for the older ones\u2014those 16 or 17 years old\u2014a gift card can mean much more. It allows them to pick something out themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal continues to grow each year, with the local community’s generosity making a big impact on families in need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE annual Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal has officially kicked off, with the Ararat store setting an ambitious goal for the 2024 season.
\nStore Manager Andrew Bolzon has set a challenge for the community, aiming to more than double last year\u2019s donations.
\n\u201cLast year, we collected 137 gifts. This year, we\u2019re aiming for 350, which we hope to hand over to Captain Greg Turnbull of the Salvation Army.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[31],"class_list":["post-2854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_6825-scaled-e1731651816633.jpg?fit=2060%2C1390&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdqUu4-K2","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2854"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}