As the festive season approaches and homelessness continues to soar on the Sunshine Coast, the Sunshine Coast Business Women's Network is aiming to gift a record number of presents to those in hardship this Christmas.

Jeannette Allom-Hill, the Community Engagement Portfolio Lead at SCBWN, said the network has been supporting Maroochydore’s Laurel Place for 6 years and the long-standing tradition brings comfort and joy to those facing challenging circumstances during a time traditionally associated with warmth and togetherness.

"Our Christmas breakfast event is like a big, warm hug. As well as raising funds for Laurel Place through our raffle, we have an annual tradition to set up our ‘Giving Tree‘ where members donate gifts to the amazing Laurel Place for their clients.
“The positive impact we've witnessed in previous years, added together with the rising number of people struggling with homelessness on the Sunshine Coast, has really motivated us to make this year's collection the most remarkable yet,” Ms Allom-Hill added.

Laurel Place is a community based, government funded organisation that provides free therapeutic services, counselling, group programs, community education and more to survivors of sexual violence - as well as their caregivers.
They have four locations across the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay, Gympie and South Burnett areas with their main office being in Maroochydore.

Laurel Place Adult Team Leader Kim Locklier said the organisation’s budget doesn’t leave much left over for gift giving after paying staff, wages and services, so receiving support like this from the community is incredibly welcomed.
“Funding and resources for NGOs is limited and unfortunately we don’t have the funds to provide gifts and material aid to our clients so this initiative is extra special for us.

“A lot of the clients we support – majority being women – are so focused on looking after their children and everyone else around them that they never buy anything for themselves. To be able to give these women a gift picked just for them is incredibly special,” she added.

Ms Locklier said they have children’s programs that receive gifts for the little ones but they welcome presents for any age group.

“The best gift would be something that’s a bit of a treat, something a little bit special that they would never usually purchase themselves like skincare or high quality, dignified products,” she added.

Kim Locklier and Laurel Place Executive Director Lisa Mclean will be speaking to the SCBWN event guests at the Christmas Breakfast on Tuesday December 12th, sharing heartwarming insights into the impact of these gifts and funds.
Ms Allom-Hill said donating Christmas gifts to Laurel Place is SCBWN’s way of spreading joy and giving back to the community this time of year, creating brightness during tough times.

"It is just so beautifully aligned with what we do as a network, reaching out to the least privileged in our community and giving back,” Ms Allom-Hill said.

If you would like to attend the SCBWN Christmas event and donate a gift to the Giving Tree, please visit the SCBWN website to purchase your ticket. If you would like to donate a gift to Laurel Place, please call the team on 07 5443 4711.