2020 has been a tumultuous year for most of us in the community, including The Beauty Bank. We have been so proud to offer the service of Life's Little Luxuries bags for adult females and males and older teens to other charities, private and government community organisations, free of charge, since 2013. Our packs grew from humble beginnings of a few hotel size toiletries packed in Jen Armstrong's lounge room to the beautiful bags with between 12-16 items we present year-round now. In 2016 we added Life's Little Christmas Luxuries bags and the motto of "no toothpaste, no tampons" to make these strictly gift bags. Christmas is a time when many don't receive gifts as is traditional to do so.

Our recipients over the years have been many. We know that with every bag or gift pack given to an organisation's client, probably at least one or two additional people have benefited. To date, we estimate having reached around 16,400 people directly. We still have a couple of months left in 2020 to distribute our everyday bags as well as our Christmas bags. By the end of the year, this figure will be approximately 17,400.

After a lot of soul searching, the committee has concluded that we can no longer keep The Beauty Bank going as a viable organisation. As well as offering our bags free of charge to other organisations for their clients, The Beauty Bank has always offered assistance to the community in times of crisis. This first happened when the Kurnell tornado of 2016 wreaked havoc. At this time we allowed another organisation to distribute our handbags full of essential items to the local community. Recently, following the devastation of floods and fires with COVID-19 hot on the heels, grants for what we do have been non-existent this year. Over the last 12 months, we have had to move twice, and, at the end of the year it will happen again. Our wonderful community has rallied as best they could to assist us but product and monetary donations have been well down. We have had to put our cash reserves into play into keeping the quality of our bags as high as the recipients deserve.

We will continue to use up the stock we have on hand and will be taking no further donations at drop off points after 9 October 2020. The Beauty Bank usually closes for the Christmas break in the first week of December and this will be the case this year.

I, personally, am so proud of all that The Beauty Bank and our supporters have achieved over the years and the difference we have made to so many lives. This year just got the better of us, and it is time to let other organisations meet the needs of the clients we have serviced over the last seven years, similarly.

DENISE