Employees from IBM Cumberland Forest, Sydney have made the long drive out to Forbes to try and help those struggling due to the drought find a little Christmas cheer.
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This is the second trip out for the members of IBM, as they came to Forbes in October to share gifts of food and gift vouchers for farming families in the Forbes community.
John Wijeyasiri said the idea to give back to a farming community evolved from one of their office’s multicultural lunches.
“They started talking how they could help local farmers, and we saw how badly the Central West had been impacted,” he said.
The staff from IBM partnered with the local St John’s Anglican Church to help the donations go to where they were needed.
Reverend Crystal Spindler from St John’s Anglican Church said both rounds of donations from IBM staff were very well received by local community members.
During their recent trip to Forbes, the staff from IBM brought almost 100 bags of presents for children at Northside Chapel and other community members.
Reverend Spindler said the kids who received presents were extremely grateful for the generosity.
“Their faces just held a thousand stories … The thanks they had for their presents.”
Along with the presents, Reverend Spindler said the staff from IBM also brought out Christmas focused hampers.
“They brought out Christmas focused hampers, with things that you wouldn’t buy if you were stuggling,” she said.
