We have been so fortunate to receive two wonderful donations from Share the Dignity through the #Itsinthebag campaign.

These handbags have been donated by generous people across the state and will be delivered to our consumers in need through all our teams.

Our delivery of more than 200 handbags at Christmas time have already gone to grateful consumers, many reduced to tears by the kindness of strangers.

So, what makes people be so generous? Well, we'd like to share with you one of the cards attached to a donated handbag which included a host of products including Village Cinemas Gold Class movie tickets.

The card read:

"To whom my bag finds it’s way too.

"We hope you have a very Merry Christmas and that 2019 brings you good fortune, good luck, happiness and great health.

"We wish this bag was never rending and could put more in, but we hope what we have selected will help you or simply make you feel special because even though we don’t know who you are, we do know that you are strong and someone we are admirable of and therefore deserve to feel special.

"Enjoy the movie tickets. We hope there is a good movie for you to watch.

"Have a safe New Year and please know that every time you use this bag and the things inside, a family in Melbourne is thinking of you. Lots of love. (Signed by four members of a family. Names withheld for privacy reasons).

If you wonder if they make a difference, we'd like to share this reaction from one of our staff and a handbag recipient in the past: "This opportunity for the mums created much excitement and while one of the mums explored the contents of her bag, she pulled out a perfume and said: ‘I Love that, this is probably the only Christmas present I’m going to get’.”

Just brilliant! Thank you all!

The handbags will support our consumers in areas such as child and family services, mental health, alcohol and other drugs programs and refugee settlement services and headspace Bendigo.

www.bchs.com.au I #BCHS #thereforyou