Our centres
Gifts for Kids
Share the joy of giving. Help us give thousands of disadvantaged Australian children a gift for Christmas.
Barnardos Gifts for Kids
Christmas appeal
Each year with Barnardos Gift for Kids Christmas appeal you can help share the joy of giving.
Your gift will give the thousands of children and young people in our care, some of whom have experienced abuse, neglect, poverty and homelessness, a chance to receive a gift for the very first time on Christmas Day.
Share the joy this Christmas
Make a donation
Pick a gift online
Hold an online toy drive
Gift cards for teens
To find out more information on how your organisation or school can help with our Barnardos Gifts for Kids Christmas Gift Appeal
Set up a Gifts for Kids online page
It just takes a few clicks for businesses, community groups, schools and families to set up their own Gift for Kids Appeal online donation page.
We’ve partnered with Simply Giving – Australia’s most used and trusted online toy drive facility to make the process as simple and efficient as possible. Through your own Gift for Kids page, you will be able to track how many gifts your group has donated to Barnardos.
Check out some ideas and inspiration here
on how your company can get more involved this Christmas and spread the joy of giving further.
We have also created some assets to help you promote the Gift For Kids appeal.
The pack consists of logos, email banners, social media posts and Christmas tree decorations.
A new start for Kirra and her family
Kirra and her two young children found themselves homeless for several months during 2023, having had to relocate as a result of domestic violence. Despite their circumstances, Kirra started from scratch and managed to secure a private rental, along with necessities like white goods and bed linen, to rebuild the loving home that she knew they all deserved. However, with Christmas fast approaching, Kirra had no funds to give her kids the experience that they needed after such a challenging year.
Your compassion meant that families like Kirra and her children didn’t miss out on Christmas, giving them the extra support they needed – not only to select suitable gifts for their children, but to access food purchased with donations received through the Gifts for Kids appeal.
“I really appreciate the assistance; the kids learnt a lot of life lessons last year. Seeing the joy on their faces when they opened the gifts, that they thought they might not receive, made such a huge difference. I had never been in a situation like what we went through last year and just felt empty and lost, as to what to do. It brought tears to my eyes on Christmas Day, when my daughter said, ‘Santa didn’t forget us mum, he found us!’. That right there was thanks to Barnardos supporters, I appreciate all you’ve done for us from the bottom of our hearts. This year we will be doing our best to give back and help other families – the kids have already written down a few ideas, which I love. Thanks again from all of us.” – Kirra
Gift for Kids FAQs
What is Barnardos Gifts for Kids?
Gifts for Kids is an annual appeal run by Barnardos Australia, with the aim to deliver at least one Christmas gift to over 10,000 children and young people who are recipients of our services and care. This initiative invites organisations, schools, community groups, volunteers, and individuals to donate Christmas gifts online in the form of presents, cash or gift cards. All Christmas donations help Barnardos Australia provide critical and practical support for some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children, young people and families during the holiday period to give them a brighter future.
Why support Barnardos Gifts for Kids?
For many kids, the festive season is not a time of happiness or celebration and sadly, many are without their families. By supporting Barnardos Gifts for Kids, you will be sharing in the true spirit of the festive season, by providing disadvantaged children and young people the simple joy of receiving and unwrapping a present. A gift shows these young people that there are people in the community who care and want to contribute to providing a better future for them. Children and teens facing homelessness, poverty, neglect and abuse need your help.
What can I donate?
You can make a Christmas donation in the form of a gift card, cash donation, or by buying a Christmas donation gift from our online Christmas gifting platform.
How do I get involved in Barnardos Gifts for Kids?
There are three ways to become involved:
Our preferred option is Number 1. By choosing a cash donation we can ensure families are supported to suit their individual needs – with a toy, gift card or Christmas dinner supplies for example.
When is Gifts for Kids on?
The appeal runs from October 2024 until Friday 24 December 2024. Deliveries to our centres commence from mid-November and the majority take place through December. This allows our front-line staff to deliver in time for Christmas.
How do I know what gifts to donate?
All gifts online have been pre-selected by our Centre Managers, they know our kids the best!
If you choose to donate a gift card, it will be sent to one of our young people via their caseworker.
Why do you prefer me to donate gifts and cash online?
In 2020 and 2021 our annual Gifts for Kids campaign went online. In previous years we offered the possibility of donating a physical gift however we are no longer able to accommodate this due to storage and sorting facilities. Donating Christmas gifts online makes the process easier for you the donor and Barnardos staff with logistics and spacing requirements.
By donating cash online, you are enabling our front-line staff to purchase gifts, gift cards perhaps even a Christmas dinner for the families in our care.
It also means that we can maximise the number of children we can support. The Christmas gifts online are pre-selected by our Centres, and this also helps minimise our costs of sorting, packing and delivering the gifts from our storage facility. By donating Christmas gifts online, they are shipped directly to the centre by our partner, Simply Giving.
Is my donation tax deductible?
Yes.
Simply Giving, will provide a tax-deductible receipt, which will be emailed directly to the individual, once they have selected the gift that they wish to purchase and the donation has been made.
Individuals that make a cash or gift card donation through the Barnardos website will also receive a receipt that can also be submitted for a tax deduction.
