While spending your hard-earned cash on gifts for friends and loved ones, spare a thought for the 100 "angels" at Dar tal-Providenza, limits of Siggiewi.
The home will hold an open day on January 1 when a marathon will be run by RTK Radio between 9 a.m. and midnight to collect money for the complex.
People can start giving their donation as from today, calling 5004 9363 for a Lm3 (€6.99) donation; 5004 9365 for Lm5 (e11.65) or 5004 9360 for Lm10 (€23.29). One can also send and SMS to 5061 8922 for a Lm3 (€6.99) donation.
The home welcomed its first residents - people with severe mental and physical disabilities - in 1968 and has been full ever since. There is a waiting list of between 60 and 70 applicans. Residents are aged between eight and 75. True to its name, the home is run on providence and the goodwill of the people.
But more than a little dose of goodwill is needed because Dar tal-Providenza needs Lm1.6 million (€3.73 million) annually to cover its day-to-day running expenses.
Administrator Anton Vella said a fresh problem the home was facing was a shortage of staff because 20 full-time carers left last month. The home's full complement is 220 full-time and 10 part-time employees. There are also 120 committed volunteers.
Home director Mgr Lawrence Gatt said that even when the home's staff complement was full, the home sought new people to train and employ because it always needed motivated and well-prepared personnel.
The wages bill amounts to about Lm70,000 (€163,056) a month. Because of the staff shortage, Mr Vella said, the home had to temporary halt its respite service, which it offers to 55 families, taking in six to seven people per day so that relatives can get some respite.
Projects earmarked for this year include the repair of corridors linking blocks behind the Piazzetta Villa Papa Giovanni, which were in a precarious state, and the repair of the main chapel.
The home would also like to invest in a pool. Although residents were allowed to use the pool at Razzett tal-Hbiberija, in Marsascala free of charge, the logistics did not make sense, Mr Vella said. Three-and-a-half hours were wasted in transport to and from Ir-Razzett. Moreover, the people who most need to use the pool are bedridden and so do not get to use it.
Mgr Gatt said the home faced the continuous difficulty of making ends meet.
RTK has been organising the marathon for the past 12 years and APS Bank gave its assistance regularly.
As in previous years, items related to sports and the arts were collected by volunteers to be auctioned during the marathon.
A CD featuring numbers by Maltese singers has been recorded and income from its sale will go towards the home.