All it took was an email from us to Christian O’Connell, a breakfast show radio host with GOLD 104.3, asking for some help to promote our Christmas Food Hamper drive and next thing you know, MSFIN is being featured on his show and Melbournians are generously donating to support our ‘small but fierce’ charity.
MSFIN has been overwhelmed this year with requests for Christmas Food Hampers from the social welfare agencies we partner with on behalf of their clients who are in need of support. The demand had increased from 650 last year to nearly 3000 this year.
Our incredible community rallied to the call for hampers (as they do year after year) and had committed to gift us 500 hampers (amazing) but we knew we couldn’t make up the remaining 500 on our own…we needed help.
So an email was sent from MSFIN to Christian and in the blink of an eye (or so it felt), he and his team had decided to do what they could to get the word out to their listeners, with the goal being to raise $32,500 (500 hampers @ $65 each) as part of the “Christian O’Connell Hamper Claus Appeal”. To us, it seemed an audaciously high amount but we knew we’d be grateful for any support that came our way.
Starting on the Monday and over the next five days, MSFIN featured on air with Christian encouraging people to donate if they could. Within less than 24 hours nearly $20,000 had been donated. Within 2 days, we had not only met the goal, but exceeded it. By the Friday, Melbourne had donated over $77,000!
Our humble goal of 1000 hampers in total had become over 1800. Try to imagine the sheer joy and excitement felt by the MSFIN team, knowing we could distribute that many hampers to our partner agencies who would, in turn, deliver to the homes of their clients who are in need of material aid.
To everyone who listened, who donated, who wrote such heartwarming messages of support on the mycause page, we thank you.
To Christian and his wonderful team who helped us navigate unchartered waters of being in the spotlight, we thank you.
To our generous community who will be delivering their hampers to us to distribute, we thank you.
To say it has been overwhelming is an understatement…we are humbled by the generosity of everyone who has helped us sprinkle some Christmas magic for families who are doing it a little bit tough.
UPDATE: Melbourne wowed us with their generosity, donating a total of $79,552 which allowed MSFIN, with the wonderful support of the team from Coles for Business, to deliver the components directly to some of our partner agencies to assemble an additional 1223 food hampers.
This means our current total for 2022 is a whopping, mind-blowing, and almsot unbelievable 1900+ Christmas Food Hampers!
Wow…just wow x
