So I have done a couple of posts about what to buy people this season but I want to also put forward a nice alternative - charity.
This year we decided that instead of sending cards to all our family and friends who are based abroad, we would send a charity e-card and make a donation. For our charity we chose Shelter who help people in need of housing.
I chose this charity because last winter we had a homeless guy sleeping on our steps at work. The cleaner was really horrible about it, saying he had promised to be gone by 6am each day but had overslept (obviously his alarm clock mustn't have gone off). He had frost bite and was in terrible shape and when I rang around trying to find him support and guidance I was surprised to find so little. It was a case of 'we can give him breakfast but we close by 12' or 'we can only take him for a night or two'. It was all stop gap measures and little actual support. Everyday I see a particular hostel with people drinking outside and I think there are people who really need those beds. It may be harsh but I think if you want a bed in a shelter then they need to put their foot down and say you can't sit getting drunk on our steps.
Anyway, backing away from the rant, there are lots of charitable pressies at Christmas.
Oxfam have the unwrapped range which is a way of giving someone a token of a charitable gift. For example a fridge magnet which states that you donated £5 towards school books for an African child - my sister got us this a couple of years ago.
The Eve Brook Scholarship does amazing work providing financial support to young people who have been in the care system and wish to persue careers through education. It is small charities like this that often get overlooked as they aren't there on every high street or putting flyers through your door and it is these charities who are helping people on your doorstep.
So please, this Christmas instead of rushing to your local highstreet consider making one of your gifts a charitable donation, afterall think what your money gets you. £6 to Oxfam will buy a health check in a poor community, you'd be hard pushed to even find a paperback book for £6 and even then it's one read and done.
This year we decided that instead of sending cards to all our family and friends who are based abroad, we would send a charity e-card and make a donation. For our charity we chose Shelter who help people in need of housing.
I chose this charity because last winter we had a homeless guy sleeping on our steps at work. The cleaner was really horrible about it, saying he had promised to be gone by 6am each day but had overslept (obviously his alarm clock mustn't have gone off). He had frost bite and was in terrible shape and when I rang around trying to find him support and guidance I was surprised to find so little. It was a case of 'we can give him breakfast but we close by 12' or 'we can only take him for a night or two'. It was all stop gap measures and little actual support. Everyday I see a particular hostel with people drinking outside and I think there are people who really need those beds. It may be harsh but I think if you want a bed in a shelter then they need to put their foot down and say you can't sit getting drunk on our steps.
Anyway, backing away from the rant, there are lots of charitable pressies at Christmas.
Oxfam have the unwrapped range which is a way of giving someone a token of a charitable gift. For example a fridge magnet which states that you donated £5 towards school books for an African child - my sister got us this a couple of years ago.
The Eve Brook Scholarship does amazing work providing financial support to young people who have been in the care system and wish to persue careers through education. It is small charities like this that often get overlooked as they aren't there on every high street or putting flyers through your door and it is these charities who are helping people on your doorstep.
So please, this Christmas instead of rushing to your local highstreet consider making one of your gifts a charitable donation, afterall think what your money gets you. £6 to Oxfam will buy a health check in a poor community, you'd be hard pushed to even find a paperback book for £6 and even then it's one read and done.
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