In the giving mood

Sircuit is getting in the Christmas giving mood a full six months early as part of the bar’s Xmas in July celebrations running from July 14-19.

The weeklong celebration is being marked with a redecoration of the venue in full festive theme and a massive undertaking for a vitally important community organisation.

GIVE, the dance party, will be the centrepiece of this year’s event, and will provide partygoers with an opportunity to be a part of a great gesture of goodwill by wrapping and giving their own gift as price of admission.

The gifts will then be distributed to Christmas hampers organised by People Living With HIV/AIDS (Victoria).

PLWHA Victoria provides support, information and advocacy for more than 1100 HIV positive people in the state.

Each year on Christmas Day, staff and volunteers visit approximately 50 people living with HIV/AIDS in hospital and alone at home, and give them hampers full of indulgences and gifts.

“This is our 10th year of association with PLWHA, but the first time we’ve come up with the idea to use a pair of slippers as entry to a dance party,” Sircuit marketing manager Chris Driscoll said.

PLWHA Victoria’s health promotion manager, Suzy Malhotra, said the Christmas hampers have been an ongoing project for about 10 years, and whether it be a book to read or something to pamper themselves with, the gifts are an attempt to make Christmas meaningful to those they support.

“What’s resonant for us is that when people take 15 minutes buying that gift, they’re actually taking 15 minutes out of their life to think about what it’s like for someone to be socially isolated and have no contact with their family on a really important day, while we take for granted the fact that we’re supported by loved ones,” she said.

Driscoll said that when the community is given the chance for forward thinking, rather than a rush at Christmas, it can have great results.

“For me, I just know at Christmas time a bloke is going to open up a pair of slippers and I’m going to smile and know someone else is smiling. Just a gift from one bloke to another bloke,” he added.
info: You can currently grab a ticket from Sircuit on their Xmas in July tree, each with suggestions for gifts. The GIVE dance party is on Saturday, July 17. For info on PLWHA Victoria, visit www.plwhavictoria.org.au

CAPTION
Chris Driscoll, Sircuit manager Steven Fahd and Suzy Malhotra (left to right) under Sircuit’s Christmas gift tree.