No sooner had the Christmas tree gone up in the Cowper Street office of R and R Property than gifts started pouring in for the Dungog Shire Community Centre Giving Tree.

Principal Denise Haynes said the office had collected gifts for charity since 2004 and since 2008 the Dungog centre had been the beneficiary, ensuring that families across the districts had a little brighter Christmas than they otherwise might.

“People are so generous as they know the centre is giving the gifts to local area families and will do anything to put a smile on a child’s face,” said Denise.

It is not unusual for the community centre to collect several car trailer loads of gifts from the Stroud office, bound for needy families.

You can leave an unwrapped gift under the tree at the R and R Property office for any age group.

“People do tend to forget about the teenagers and the babies so that’s something to keep in mind too,” said Denise.