Staff at the NCIE in inner-Sydney's Redfern hope a toy drive will help ease financial stress for the families of kids in their Young Fit and Deadly program.
Program Manager Lisa Mundine told NITV it's a way of ensuing no kid goes without this Christmas.
"In the current climate there are a lot of families that are struggling, we want to be able offer our kids some presents and give back," she said.
The Wiradjuri Bundjalung woman who grew up in Redfern, says they will also be finding ways to offer additional support to the whole family.
"A lot of them come from larger families so we're also hoping to deliver food hampers and drop off extra donations to the rest of the families," Ms Mundine said.
Lisa Mundine says her previous experience working in health and youth services has helped her navigate the new role of Program Manager of the Young Fit and Deadly program. Credit: NITV: Emma Kellaway
Their main aim is to keep kids active, happy and health while providing wrap around support services for them and their families.
Having only recently stepped into the role of Program Manager, Ms Mundine says seeing the kids enjoy the space is what matters most.
"You hear them before you see him, they bring life into the centre," she said.
"We want them to feel safe, we want them to enjoy the space and their time here. We also want to impact them through the programs that we offer and do it through a cultural lens as well."
NCIE CEO Grant Cameron told NITV News that helping community deal with the rising cost of living has been a central goal this year.
"Every kid deserves to have a smile on their face come Christmas, some of our families are in a tough spot," he said.
"Financially, it's quite hard. So the main driver for us to do the toy drive was to really give these kids a good Christmas."
Reflecting on the year that's been, the Kamilaroi man says it's been encouraging to see the centre bounce back after coming under threat of closure in August last year.
"We've had massive interest as more community members want to sign their kids up to the Young Fit and Deadly program, we've got the accommodation block opened again, and our memberships are grown in the fitness and aquatics," he said.
"They see this place as a cultural hub that is the heart and soul of Redfern and that's what this place is here for so we're excited to be taking it back to its roots."
