Last minute Christmas gift ideas from Mission Australia!

With less than a few shopping days left until Christmas, Mission Australia has a range of gift ideas to help people find the right present while also sharing the festive spirit with individuals and families doing it tough.

The virtual Christmas Tree – Australia’s first 'virtual charity tree' is now online at the charity’s website. The interactive design allows visitors to choose from a range of Christmas eGifts ranging from providing a Christmas dinner to a disadvantaged family, to phone cards for homeless people.

The virtual Christmas Tree has additional features such as Christmas card features and the ability to forward your eGift ‘wishlist’ to your friends.

Ben O’Donoghue’s Outdoor cookbook – Well known Australian celebrity chef and author, Ben O’Donoghue has offered his support to Mission Australia by making his hugely successful cookbook OUTDOOR available for purchase through the Mission Australia website for a discounted price of $25 – with all proceeds going to support Mission Australia programs.

As an added incentive, Mission Australia and Ben are offering one lucky person who purchases a book through the website, the chance to win an Australia Day barbecue in their own backyard for 10 people – cooked and catered for by Ben himself – along with two cases of wine from Penfolds and their very own Barbecues Galore barbecue.

Christmas cards and hampers – A donation will be offered to Mission Australia for greeting card purchases through CharityGreetingCards.com.au and hampers purchased through CharityHampers.com.au

Mission Australia’s Christmas Appeal - This year’s Christmas appeal focuses on child poverty. Mission Australia helps disadvantaged children in a range of ways including by providing accommodation and offering early intervention support – programs that tackle problems among kids early in their lives.

According to Mission Australia’s CEO, Toby Hall:

“Giving donations as gifts to friends helps organisations like Mission Australia transform lives – through the holiday season and beyond.

“Mission Australia thanks Australians for their support in 2009, and wishes all its donors and supporters a safe and Merry Christmas.”

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Media contact: Sally Popplestone
P: 0415 547 626 or 02 9217 1036
E: popplestones@missionaustralia.com.au

Jingle Bells in a Virtual World!

Are you a serial last-minute Christmas shopper? Do you hear the cry - “only five weeks till Christmas,” and say to yourself: “that’s heaps of time”? If you answered yes to both these questions then store the links below somewhere safe – you just might need them!

The virtual Christmas tree
Mission Australia has turned the concept of a charity tree on its head and created Australia’s first 'virtual charity tree' on our website. The interactive design allows visitors to the tree to choose from a range of Christmas eGifts by clicking on one of the six themed gift tags.

The eGifts range from a Christmas dinner for a family doing it tough, to phone cards for the homeless to help them get in touch with family. Once you have selected your eGift tags, you can choose to send a link to your friends asking them to donate on your behalf. You also have the option to add eGifts to your shopping cart and deliver those gifts via email to family and friends. For those people who prefer to print their card, you can download and print your own version of each tag, filling in just your purchase information.

Christmas Appeal
This year’s Christmas Appeal theme is focused on child poverty. Right now, nearly half a million Australian children are living in poverty. Without help, these children will face challenges early in their life that may prevent them from reaching their full potential.

The appeal explains how Mission Australia helps children in this situation by providing their family with access to stable accommodation and then working with parents to help them build a strong foundation for their children's development. This includes early learning support to help children prepare for a successful transition into school.

Kids toys
In the lead up to Christmas, five per cent of all sales of toys from FishPond will be donated to Mission Australia.

Visitors to the site are also encouraged to purchase toys that can be given as Christmas presents to our clients. Fishpond will store these toys ready for distribution just before Christmas day.

The cookbook…
At the very special price of $25, the latest cookbook by Ben O’Donoghue, Ben’s Barbecue, is another perfect gift for those friends and family who enjoy cooking (or who need a helping hand).

Not only does Mission Australia receive $10 for every book purchased through the website, every person who purchases BEN'S BARBECUE will go in the draw to win an Australia Day BBQ for 10 people, catered for by Ben O'Donoghue. The prize also includes two cases of wine from Penfolds and you get to keep the barbeque!

But wait, there’s more…
Charity Greeting cards also support Mission Australia by giving us 40 cents from every card sold while Charity Hampers also provide monetary payment to us on a per hamper basis.