Chelsea’s 2025 Giving Tree Spreads Christmas Cheer

Published on 18 December 2025

As Christmas draws ever closer, Chelsea has once again been overwhelmed by the generous and giving spirit of the Hindmarsh community who have donated gifts to the Giving Tree Appeal.

On Friday 12 December 2025, Chelsea - a Youth Councillor, local Dimboola Library member and resident - along with her mum Vicki, collected the donated gifts from the Giving Trees in Hindmarsh Shire Libraries. Chelsea is thrilled to report that the community has once again outdone themselves, exceeding the previous year’s gift total. This year, a whopping 243 items were donated!

Chelsea filled the boot of Vicki’s car with plush toys, games, craft activities, prints and paintings, décor items and even some Christmas bon-bons, and zoomed the donations down the highway to Horsham, where she was able to give them to The Salvation Army for distribution throughout the community.

The Salvation Army’s Annie Ferguson said, “We are very grateful, people haven’t been able to give as much this year so [Chelsea’s donation] has really bolstered what we can distribute.”

Hindmarsh Shire Libraries is privileged to be a part of Chelsea’s generous initiative and can proudly say that this opportunity is becoming a well-known ‘staple’ on the annual calendar, with a number of community members asking when the appeal will begin and remarking on how successful it has been year after year.

We thank everyone who was able to donate to this kind cause, and we look forward to the opportunity again in future.

Well done, Chelsea!

For more information, please contact Hannah Coles, Coordinator Libraries and Customer Service, on (03) 5391 4444, or email libraries@hindmarsh.vic.gov.au.

Monica Revell
Chief Executive Officer