Charities, businesses & volunteers combine to bring Christmas to London’s vulnerable
Melanie May | 8 December 2020 | News
Charities are combining forces in London this Christmas along with volunteers and businesses in a collective effort to support vulnerable residents over the holiday season.
The Kensington and Chelsea Christmas Collective includes Age UK, the NHS Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service, mental health charity SMART, The Dalgarno Trust, Dads House and Venture Community Association.
It will be targeting its support to families on free school meals, elderly people, vulnerable adults and the homeless with two core initiatives:
1. Christmas in a Box: Prepared meals, grocery items and Christmas gifts will be delivered to the doors of those in need, following social distancing guidelines, with items sourced from providers including Waitrose and Partners, Furloughed Foodies and the Restaurant Association.
2. Christmas Entertainment: A programme of travelling local choirs and activities including films and dinners will visit various areas of the Borough – following social distancing guidelines.
[youtube height=”450″width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44k2eh535FM&feature=emb_logo[/youtube]
The bags of food and gifts will be delivered to families on free school meals, homeless people and vulnerable individuals supported by local charities or identified by local people, with schools helping the Christmas Collective to get the word out to families with children on free school meals.
The initiative aims to deliver 4000 boxes to those in need this Christmas and to raise a total of £130,000 for both this winter’s initiatives and for ongoing support in 2021, accessible via an online fundraising platform.
Amelia Mustapha, Director of SMART, commented:
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“The Christmas Collective is hoping to bring back the true spirit of Christmas at a really critical time. Our aim is to make sure everyone has a warm heart from the opportunity to give or receive and a full tummy. We will provide a festive meal and gifts, information about support available and tokens of the love we have for each other. The travelling choir and our other activities like the outdoor cinemas will bring joy to the streets in a Covid-friendly way.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.