Residents of Melbourne’s northern suburbs are being urged to give generously to this year’s Red Shield Appeal.
Volunteers from the Craigieburn Salvation Army will be collecting money at shopping centres across Craigieburn, Roxburgh Park and Greenvale, and rattling tins at many of the area’s major intersections on May 28-29.
The appeal is the Salvation Army’s major fundraiser.
Money collected during the appeal goes towards the Salvation Army’s welfare programs.
Craigieburn captain Peter Brookshaw is hoping to better last year’s fundraising total of $15,000.
He said the Craigieburn corps used the money to help with its emergency relief programs, which include providing food vouchers and covering the costs of expenses such as public transport, phone or medicalbills.
The Craigieburn Corps provide support to people living in the area between Broadmeadows and Craigieburn.
“The Red Shield Appeal allows us to support more people locally,” Captain Brookshaw said.
“It is not just people who are unemployed who are seeking help, but people who are under employed, looking for housing or have had a relationship breakdown.
“We are in a growth area so generally we are going to see an increase in people needing our services. We know fine well the social issues aren’t going away.”
