Charity/Giving back at Christmas

[jopickles]

Before I start I would just like to say I'm not a do-gooder or wanting to make others feel guilty I just wondered if people have donated to good causes or knew of campaigns going on that others may want to contribute to

I have donated 20 advent calendars to the local foodbank after seeing something Jason Mansford put on facebook and am currently arranging with work shoe boxes for the local Help the Aged centre

Anyone got any nice ideas?

We'll be donating extra to the foodbank, taking some small presents to the local day centre for those who won't get anything, buying from the Kids Company JL list, doing MN Secret Santa, and choosing our charity for next year to support on a regular basis

My ds's school always collects for the salvation army xmas gift appeal because it goes to local people in need.

www.salvationarmy.org.uk/christmas-present-appeal

I stick things in the trolley for the food bank. I also give a donation into Dogs Trust, I buy bones and treats and fill a big plastic storage box for them for the poor pups. I also give them blankets and towels.

Posted too early. So I usually save unopened duplicate birthday gifts from my dc, rewrap and donate. Plus I usually add a few toys I have bought myself.

We haven't done the school operation Christmas child shoe box for obvious reasons, but I would like to get DD to choose something to gift somewhere. Any advice on how I can find out about local gift distributions? I think it would be age appropriate to pick a gift for a child who lives locally and won't have much.
Any suggestions would be great.

OP and sorry for the hijack

Elvish try the Salvation army as they donate locally to refuges, homeless shelters, care homes etc.

www.salvationarmy.org.uk/christmas-present-appeal

donate money and a trolley load to the Lions Club appeal locally. I fill the trolley with the equivalent of a weekly shop excluding perishables for a family of 2 parents and a few small DCs, and put things like nappies, toothbrushes, cleaning things, seasonings and condiments (stock, herbs and spices, ketchup, mayo etc), general food storage items (tinned tuna, bags of pasta etc) as well as a few seasonal treats.

I also give DD money to go and buy something that she would like, which we then give to Lions Club toy appeal.

I sort my budget for my childrens presents and divide it 3 ways instead of the required 2 and 1/3 then goes to a local childrens hospice.

As OP i am donating advent calendars to local food bank but am going to add in a number of selection boxes as well. Am currently having a dry November so any money I would have spent on wine I am going to buy a food shop for the food bank or some gifts for a local scheme. Am assuming the Salvation Army are doing their toy appeal again?

Yes - don't want to list what I do as it makes me look like a do gooder but as a general rule I aim to give twice my 'Christmas budget' to good causes.

Can I just say, as a food bank organiser, it is great to support food banks at Christmas but we usually get over whelmed with donations etc at this time of year but come late spring/early summer we are usually very, very low on donations and help later in the year would be greatly appreciated .

We do something different each year, depending on what's going on and how we feel.

One year we made a donation to DEC when there was a humanitarian crisis in the Congo, last year a local children's hospice.

We usually do up a shop/toys/nappies for the Salvation Army, this year it will be a local food bank appeal.

I love Jason Manford's idea of donating advent calendars/ selection boxes to the local food bank. Having worked with very deprived children, I know that it's often the little things that children really wish for and miss when they don't have them.

We usually donate to the local children's centre and salvation army. I also donate a day of present wrapping where I go in and wrap donated presents before they're given to the families. I think donated time is important too if you have it to spare. I'm lucky atm that I can volunteer my time 5 half days a week but will be looking to return to full time work in the new year so will be limited in what I can offer then.

I've donated my work Christmas bonus to charity and will be buying selection boxes for the local food bank. I'd like to donate a Christmas lunch for someone (turkey, veg etc) but I'm not allowed to donate fresh food

LadySybil - do you have any CAP support near you (a debt counselling charity) I am sure they would put you in touch with a family who would genuinely appreciate a full Christmas meal. We do that locally through CAP.

Our Food Bank is 'independently' run so we can donate fresh food etc but I understand that some Food Banks are very strict about what they will or won't accept.

Through school we do shoe boxes, some operation xmas some other charties. I usually get a barnados present for DD so she knows someone out there is going to say get taken to pantomime from her....( as part of her other gifts) make more effort to add to food bank in supermarket etc.

I've also heard that food banks get inundated in the run up to Christmas and then run short in January. Our church moved its quarterly food bank collection to just after New Year for this reason. I used to help out sorting gifts donated to the Salvation Army gift appeal when I lived in Oxford and they're always short of things for teenagers (the appeal includes them, but a lot of people think of it as a 'toy appeal'). In Oxford the SA collected the toys and social services distributed them - I presume this is how to works elsewhere.

We're donating mainly to local women's refuges. Also taking some new presents to Salvation Army and buying two extra selection boxes every time we supermarket shop to donate to Food Bank.

As a group of friends we collectively donate to Smile Train most Christmases, instead of buying presents for each other's children.

www.smiletrain.org.uk/

They carry out free surgery on children with cleft palates around the world.

We always do the Salvation Army Toy appeal. Both my DC have Decemer birthdays so they choose a few presents each to donate.
I like the way it goes directly to local children

Me and B do a couple of boxes for Operation Christmas child, and I make sure I take a packed lunch out with me when I go to town in case I come across a homeless person... There was one I used to give my lunch to on the way to work each day a couple of years ago, but he moved on last christmas... Sorted out the linen cupboard and gave any towels/blankets and coats I didn't want anymore to help the homeless etc.. Hopefully B will learn to appreciate what he has by seeing how people don't have as much as he does... And maybe learn a little compassion for others at the same time :)

We are doing a couple of Mary's Meals backpacks via DD's Rainbows.

I have also purchased DD's friends presents from the local Children's Hospice shop. They do some really nice stuff and its for a fabulous cause.

Will donate to the local foodbank. A couple of years ago I also volunteered at a soup kitchen on Christmas Eve. I cant do it this year but I wish I could.

Wanted to add that the things from the hospice shop are new

I'm obviously missing something- i've done Operation Christmas Child for years. Why shouldn't I anymore??!