SUPERFLUOUS SETS of slippers, unwanted Christmas jumpers and cookbooks fated for dusty shelves are all being sought by staff at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, who have launched an appeal for unwanted gifts.
Any presents that people received over the holiday season but do not want can be brought to the crib at the cathedral on Marlborough Street up until January 6th.
They will then be collected by Crosscare, the social care agency of the archdiocese of Dublin, and will from there be distributed to people most in need. The annual appeal, which began in 2006, has proved a big success in the past.
Last year, Crosscare collected seven vanloads of gifts and handed them out through its services this year. According to the agency, thousands of people received gifts, among them young teenagers in care who were given gifts on their birthdays and men and women using Crosscare’s homeless services who may not have received gifts for many years.
“Despite the difficult economic times we are in, we have found that people have been even more considerate since times got tough,” said Fr Pat O’Donoghue, who started the first appeal.
“The essence of the initiative is the fact that most of us received much more than we need [on Christmas Day], and just one unwanted gift given back could bring some happiness to others in our community who will be struggling with various difficulties in life in 2012,” Fr O’Donoghue said.
This year Crosscare is also planning to distribute unwanted gifts to elderly people living alone in Dublin’s north inner city, whom it supports through the Care Local Project.