Glennie, a secondary school teacher, says his son is learning important lessons about kindness and understanding through their Christmas tradition. Conversations with people struggling with poverty are particularly meaningful, he says. This year there were “pearls of wisdom” from one grateful recipient who urged Jackson to always listen to his father.
“It brings a tear to my eye every year,” Glennie says. “I’m choking up now just talking about it. It’s so important to me that my kid experiences things like that and grows up to be someone who looks beyond the exterior of people that he walks past on the street.”
One measure of homelessness, known as the “By-Name list”, which keeps track of every person sleeping rough in a community with whom support services have had contact, found there were 180 people experiencing various forms of homelessness in the City of Melbourne in October.
Father and son handed out hundreds of dollars in items including toiletries, clothing and chargers. Credit: Simon Schluter
Glennie also has a five-year-old daughter who is raring to join her father and older brother in handing out packages on Christmas Day. He expects she will be ready to next year.
Glennie and his son spend months preparing for their Christmas Day outing. He says it provides an opportunity to talk about the importance of kindness and compassion.
“It doesn’t matter what you do for a job. They should be the true measures of success. I want my kids to grow up to be emotionally successful.”
Jackson must wait until the morning’s work is done before going home to receive his own presents. But Glennie says opening gifts takes on a new meaning after spending the morning playing their small part alleviating disadvantage.
“When you start out with some sobering moments, it makes everything a bit more joyous after that.”
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