Grassroots charities join forces for £1 a day reverse Advent appeal
Howard Lake | 8 December 2016 | News
A group of charities are collaborating on a £1 a day Advent fundraising campaign to help support humanitarian projects throughout Europe and the Middle East.
The ‘Make the Pledge’ campaign this month invites people to “Pledge. Donate. Love”. Specifically they are asking people to save £1 each day during Advent and then to donate their £24 on Christmas Eve to support the group of charities and their work.
The Common Good Collective, the charity behind the appeal, is promoting the campaign in a number of ways, including posting to their Facebook page an original story from some of the people they’ve encountered in their work – staff and volunteers at charities, refugees, filmmakers and medics.
Jen McGeachie, founder of The Common Good explained:
“We’ve met so many incredible people over the past year and a half and this advent appeal is a way of bringing all of their stories together; from the doctors in Aleppo to the support workers in London who’ve volunteered in Turkey”.
The collective has set a target of persuading 2,000 people to make the pledge to donate £24 on Christmas Eve.
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Charities in the Advent campaign
The charities that are involved are:
- The Common Good Collective
- Calais Action
- The Worldwide Tribe
- Sea-Watch
- Good Chance Theatre
- Syria Relief
- Welcome to our Jungle
- Dunkirk Refugee Children’s Centre
- Syrian Refugee Relief Fund
- High Wycombe Helping Others
Jaz O’Hara; founder of the Worldwide Tribe, one of the larger charities involved in the campaign explained:
“Our funds go towards basic needs such as blankets, mattresses, shelters and food, as well as longer term projects like installing wifi into camps, allowing people to contact their loved ones this Christmas. We also run various creative projects such as photography projects to empower people to tell their own story.
“We are involved in the Advent campaign because at a time when we are feeling the most grateful and abundant, it’s even more important to remember those who are struggling to survive this Christmas.”
Calais Action is a charity that helps refugees across Europe. They collect and distribute aid along with advocacy and lobbying in Parliament.
Libby Freeman, founder of Calais Action commented:
“We’re delighted to be involved with The Common Good Collective Reverse Advent Appeal this Christmas. This innovative project hopes to raise vital funds to enable ourselves and other groups to continue our work”.
The Common Good Collective was set up in September 2015 in response to the growing refugee crisis throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East. They create “memorable fundraising events and campaigns” for grassroots NGOs that work together to deliver aid, medical expertise and support for worldwide humanitarian projects. They aim to support as many charities as possible in an environmentally sustainable way.
It is a charitable fund under the auspices of registered charity Prism the Gift Fund.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.