Givemas, a joyous and meaningful way to give to your community!
It's beginning to look a lot like Givemas!
Canberra Hospital Foundation’s Givemas is a great way to support patients and families who find themselves unwell and in hospital at Christmas time.
Donations of gifts from the community are given to patients who have been in hospital for a long time, are away from their families and loved ones, or don’t have family nearby to visit.
You can show your support by donating gifts for patients across health services in Canberra.
Find the downloadable/ printable wishlists here.
You can Adopt-a-Ward!
Your organisation, business or group may also want to support patients in a specific ward through the 'Adopt-a-Ward' initiative - you could run a 'gift drive' with your business, team or community group. More information below...
Talk to your friendly CHF Elves!
Please call (02) 5124 3542 or email us at hello@chfoundation.org.au to discuss your Givemas donations. Thank you so much!
Feel free to contact us if you need any assistance.
"The patients on 7B were very appreciative & overcome that someone had taken time to think about giving them a gift."
All Donations for Givemas
How do I know which gifts are needed?
We have a downloadable ‘wish list’ as a guide for the type of items that would be suitable for children, teens or adults in hospital. Please note, this PDF has two pages.
Are there any specific requirements for gifts?
A few things to keep in mind…
- Please ensure any gifts donated are not wrapped, as they need to be visible for security reasons
- Please no food gifts
- All donated gifts must be new, we can’t accept second-hand items due to infection control
How do I drop off my gifts?
- This year we will have a Givemas Station at Canberra Hospital, located in the main foyer, next door to the Veterans Lounge, adjacent to the chemist. You can bring your gifts here to drop off, and take a photo under the mistletoe!
- The Givemas Station will be available to accept donations on weekdays, Monday to Friday, and we can arrange a suitable time between 09:30am to 4:30pm.
- If you require us to meet you at the Hospital Road drop off/ pick up area with a trolley, please indicate this when you call to make arrangements.
- Please call ahead on (02) 5124 3542 so we can liaise with you to organise a suitable time to arrange drop off of your Givemas donations.
- Staff members working at CHS can visit the shopfront to leave their donated gifts.
- Please note the drop off arrangements may change without notice due to infection control protocol so please call before drop off to confirm details.
How do we share on social media?
Thank you! When you share about Givemas to your friends, family or groups on social media, you are helping us support even more local patients for Christmas 2022. You can share this page in the usual ways, or find our posts on our socials and share them.
Adopt-a-Ward Donations
What is Adopt-a-Ward?
‘Adopt a ward’ is a unique way for businesses, teams and community groups who wish to generously donate more than one gift at Christmas time to the patients of Canberra Health Services.
With the help of Canberra Hospital Foundation, you can provide gifts to many patients on a particular ward who will find themselves in hospital over Christmas. We will help organise a suitable ward for you to provide gifts to, providing you the ward name, patient demographic, brief overview of the ward and number of patients likely to be in hospital at the time.
How does Adopt-a-Ward work?
We provide you with information about a ward you can adopt, a brief overview and the demographic of the patients in the ward.
If you are doing a gift drive and are calling on your team/community to get involved, you can share this information with them which will encourage people to get involved in the community spirit of gift giving.
How do I know which gifts a ward will need?
We will provide you with a list and requirements for the type of items that would be suitable for the patients in the ward you are adopting.
How can we deliver our Adopt-a-Ward gifts?
- This year we will have a Givemas Station at Canberra Hospital, located in the main foyer, next door to the Veterans Lounge, adjacent to the chemist. You can bring your gifts here to drop off, and take a photo under the mistletoe!
- The Givemas Station will be available to accept donations on weekdays, Monday to Friday, and we can arrange a suitable time between 09:30am to 4:30pm.
- If you require us to meet you at the Hospital Road drop off/ pick up area with a trolley, please indicate this when you call to make arrangements.
- Please call ahead on (02) 5124 3542 so we can liaise with you to organise a suitable time to arrange drop off of your Givemas donations.
- Staff members working at CHS can visit the shopfront to leave their donated gifts.
- Please note the drop off arrangements may change without notice due to infection control protocol so please call before drop off to confirm details.
Being involved in Givemas is a chance for your team or company to build their team spirit, and embrace the joy of giving. Find out how awesome it is making a difference to the experiences of patients in hospital at Christmas!
"On Ward 11A the gifts were well received with both families & patients surprised to be receiving gifts while in hospital."
"I can tell you that the patients on 7B were very appreciative and overcome that someone had taken time to think about giving them a gift.
About 5 patients on the ward had no family or friends to share Christmas with and these were the ones we were able to give extra presents to, due to the large donation of gifts.
Nursing staff were also able to give some patient’s presents that they could then give to their visiting children/grandchildren as they had been unable to buy gifts whilst being in hospital.
Thank you to you, the foundation and the generous donators as it really makes a difference to the patients and their families during Christmas."
CNC, 7B
"A general thank you from the clients that they received presents they could provide to their children. A majority of clients do not have the finances to purchase children gifts so they are very grateful for the generosity of the donations received from the multiple organisations.
There was one client who currently has both of his children in care. He was able to see them on Christmas Day and was very anxious to ensure the visit went well. He was extremely happy to be able to provide presents to his children as he was not in a position to buy the presents himself.
And a huge thankyou from the staff at the Opioid Treatment Service. It is nice to be in a position to give something that means so much to others."
CNC, Alcohol and Drug Services – Opioid Treatment Services
"The patients on Ward 11A were only able to attend one of the choir performances & they did enjoy this.
Families were able take their loved ones out to some of the other choir performances & it was commented to me that “how nice it was to be able to go out & listen to & join in the singing.”
A big Thank you to MacKillop College for their generosity. On Ward 11A we elected not to give to gifts out until Christmas Day. The gifts were well received & both families & patients were surprised to be receiving gifts while in hospital.
Families had asked to have their thanks passed on to the gift providers."
Activity Coordinator, 11A
