The Salvation Army are proud to announce the second instalment of ‘Christmas with the Salvos’, a Christmas television special which will be airing on Channel 7 this December.
After the success of last year’s Christmas special, which saw The Salvos take Aussie household names of Adam Goodes, Samantha Jade and Fast Ed down the south coast of NSW to the bushfire-ravaged town of Batemans Bay, The Salvos are back again with another 30-minute production which aims to spread hope and joy this Christmas.
This year’s special sees the return of Salvation Army ambassador Samantha Jade as well as Fast Ed, with new faces in Jules Sebastian and The Wiggles cast members Simon Pryce and John Pearce, all joining forces with The Salvos to give back to some very special families and individuals at Christmas.
This Salvos Christmas Special is in conjunction with The Salvation Army’s annual Christmas Appeal, which is currently aiming to raise $20 million to ensure that Aussies doing it tough can have a special Christmas.
“I love working with The Salvos. This is my 6th year, and I have seen first-hand them helping people. They really do deliver on their message of hope,”
– said Samantha Jade, long-time ambassador of The Salvation Army.
The Wiggles came and surprised some extremely deserving families and their children with additional or complex medical needs; Liam and Ally Holland, with their son Asher, who work for The Salvos in North-West Sydney, along with two families from their community (Amanda with kids Boston, Nash and Camden, and Pat with daughter Georgia).
Along with Samantha Jade, The Wiggles decorated some cookies with the kids and finished with the Christmas favourite carol, Jingle Bells, which got all the kids and parents dancing.
Jules Sebastian brought her eye for style and knack for baking to the Christmas Special, wrapping some beautiful hampers and baking some delicious, simple Christmas cookies along with Samantha. The hampers were then distributed to the families who came along to the special lunch at the end of the special.
Fast Ed dipped into his recipe book and created a delicious Christmas feast for some incredibly deserving families who had both been helped by The Salvos as well as given back to those in need through The Salvation Army.
Ed cooked a Christmas Pudding-stuffed Roast Chicken and a Date & Coconut cake; two really affordable, simple and special dishes that anyone at home can create on any budget.
The Better Homes and Gardens chef said,
“The thing I love about The Salvos is that you don’t have to be part of The Salvation Army in order to appreciate all of its incredible benefits…..they do great work.”
‘Christmas with the Salvos’ culminated in an intimate concert from Samantha Jade, who sung a medley of classic Christmas carols as The Salvos handed out hampers and toys to the families in attendance.
“I am so so proud to be a part of a movement like The Salvos. They are giving people hope every day, and especially at Christmas time,”
– said Samantha Jade.
At Christmas, The Salvos distribute over 64,000 hampers and vouchers, give out around 500,000 gifts and toys to families in need at Christmas, provide over 130,000 meals across the country and provide more than 66,000 beds for over 10,000 families in need of accommodation during the festive
season.
To leave no one in need this Christmas, please donate to The Salvation Army’s Christmas Appeal at salvationarmy.org.au or by calling 13 SALVOS (13 72 58).
