Christmas, a time for giving

For many people, Christmas is the most exciting and the happiest time of the year. It’s a great opportunity to get together with the family, shower each other with gifts, celebrate, spread love and joy! The majority of us get to take time off work, have some rest, maybe even go away for a while. We get so caught up in putting up our Christmas trees and decorations, shopping and sending out cards, that quite often we forget, that unfortunately there are also plenty of people that find this festive period very difficult.

Mental health issues, illnesses, losses of loved ones, poverty and many other personal tragedies can be exceptionally hard to deal with during times like this. I believe that it’s our duty as humans to not forget people in need and do whatever we can to make sure that their Christmas is as magical as it can be. There’s a number of charities out there that year after year dedicate themselves to help others, whether it’s through financial, material, physical or emotional support. You can join them in so many ways!

I prepared a list of just a few charities and information on how you can contribute to their Christmas appeals.

THE SALVATION ARMY

It’s a Christian organisation that supports people of all ages on many levels – children, elderly, homeless, victims of domestic abuse and many more. This Christmas, they collect money for boxes of food and gifts for families in need, one-to-one support for homeless people and dinners and companionships for the elderly.

You can:

• Donate on their website
• Join them as a one-off volunteer at Christmas time to help hand out meals, entertain the ones that attend their events, etc.

ST ELIZABETH HOSPICE

It’s a private charity that helps to improve lives of those with progressive and terminal illnesses and their families. Around Christmas time, they offer plenty of opportunities and ways to contribute to their cause.

You can:

• Organise your own fundraiser events, such as Christmas bake sale or Christmas carol concert
• Volunteer at the events that are hosted by the hospice, such as Christmas Day Dip 2019 or New Year’s Dog Walk
• Do some of your Christmas shopping at number of their charity shops

SECRET SANTA – ACTION FOR CHILDREN

It’s a charity that focuses on children in need, that often are left at Christmas alone, without food, place to sleep, feeling unloved and uncared for. All collected money will be used to provide hot meals, shelters, clothes and presents.

You can:

• Make a donation for yourself or in someone else’s name as a gift

GIVING WORLD

It’s an organisation that partners with busy companies that provide them with their unsold or discounted stock, so that they can send it out to the most deprived communities in the UK. Christmas time is for many an opportunity to tidy up their houses, clear out closets and get rid of a lot of unused goods.

You can:

• Donate toys, household items, clothes, food, cleaning products, books, etc.

Samaritans

It’s a very unique charity that focuses on people struggling with their mental health issues and on reducing feelings that can lead to suicide. They respond to calls for help as frequently as every six seconds. It’s a very important cause, especially at Christmas, as last year their volunteers answered an enormous number of over 300,000 calls and over 10,000 of those were on Christmas Day.

You can:

• Donate money to help them improve and expand their services
• Join or organise number of fundraiser events, such as marathons, bake sales, festive quiz
• Volunteer at their events or as a person that answers calls

We all deserve to have a very Merry Christmas.

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