How I’ve decided to ‘Donate Local’ this Christmas

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There are so many additional reasons why people are struggling this year, and so much extra support needed. Covid-19 has meant thousands have lost their jobs and thrown millions into lower incomes. Many people are struggling to put food on the table for their children, and having a young daughter myself, this really struck a cord.

Working for Community First Yorkshire, I see so many ways in which our projects, and other charities, help people in financial hardship. I wanted to try to make a difference on a more personal level and help those who have struggled financially.

The work of professional footballer, Marcus Rashford, to stop children going hungry during the school holidays really made me think about how I could help over the Christmas break, and in particular, on Christmas day. I’d heard a story on social media about someone who’d asked their local primary school if there was a particular family who were struggling and created a Christmas hamper for them, with food for Christmas dinner, selection boxes, advent calendars, and some gifts for their two children.

I decided that I’d like to take this idea and make it work in the village I live in. I organised a food bank donation weekend in December 2020, I checked with our local food bank what items they were looking for (and any they weren’t – they already had lots of mince pies!), I then publicised it on our local Facebook village group. The local primary school kindly agreed to have a day of donations and villagers showed their support by having donation boxes outside their homes over the weekend for people to drop their food items off. It was a great way to give back to our local community, in a socially distanced way. We supported York Food bank who support people in crisis.

It was wonderful to see how generous and kind hearted so many of the people in my community are, and I enjoyed speaking to people and hearing their stories (from the end of the drive) when they dropped off their donations. I was overwhelmed with how much people had donated, we received a fantastic amount of Christmas food and gifts. Give it a try in your village – if you’re having a Christmas lights trail, why not incorporate food donation boxes for people when they are walking round?

There are so many other ways you could consider giving to charity this year, in a socially distanced world – instead of the usual office Secret Santa, you could donate to a local charity instead, and then help even more by spreading the word about them and what they do to your colleagues. Or how about organising a Christmas quiz at your works Christmas Zoom meeting in place of the usual Christmas party? Half of the proceeds to the winner, half to a local charity.

Sue Oliver, schemes manager at MHA Communities Harrogate has donated her usual secret santa gift this year and said: “Normally at this time of year, my colleagues and I would be spending an agreed amount on a ‘Secret Santa’ gift. As we are not meeting up this Christmas, I have donated my ‘gift’ to the new MHA Communities Harrogate JustGiving page.

“The new Methodist Homes MHA scheme in #Harrogate will help prevent loneliness and isolation among older people in the local community, who continue to live independently in their own homes, through telephone and video befriending and digital activities. The aim is to enable people to stay connected in their communities so that they can #livelaterlifewell.

“Please join me in donating the value of your usual workplace ‘Secret Santa’ gifts or a round of drinks at the office party!”

I’m not great at sending Christmas cards, and I normally make a donation to charity instead, but those few that I do send, I buy them from a local charity. This year, because we haven’t been able to see our friends and family as much as normal, I will be trying to send out cards with notes in them to tell everyone how much I’m missing them, but I will be supporting a local charity by buying them from their shop.

If you’re running low on Christmas decorations this year (maybe you also have a small child or pet who just can’t help themselves from touching and breaking baubles!), many charities also sell Christmas decorations, you could brighten up your home and support a local charity close to your heart at the same time.

Each year around this time I choose 12 charities to donate to each month for the next year, this isn’t often the way charities might prefer people to donate to them, I know many prefer a regular donation, however it means that I research and get to know about 12 new local charities and as well as my small donation, I can support them by being a champion for their work, telling others about them and sharing their social media posts. This year all of my 12 charities are going to be local and I’m really looking forward to hearing about lots of local charities through our #DonateLocal campaign to make my choices for 2021, I’m open to suggestions if anyone would like to get in touch via our social media pages.

Donate Toys
The Reuse Santa Appeal by Yorwaste Ltd is co-ordinated in partnership with City of York Council and North Yorkshire County Council – York or North Yorkshire Household Waste Recycling Centre.

The Batley Sporting Charitable Trust and Batley Bulldogs have teamed up on a toy appeal, to provide disadvantaged children with toys this Christmas. They are looking for donations of new toys for children of Primary school age, such as puzzles, games, sports equipment, things to get creative such as colouring, painting or making or toys that both boys and girls will play with. They will also be taking donations via their Go Fund Me page to buy toys.

The Banana Box Project in Selby is asking for donations of good quality (can be pre-loved) toys, games and books to make toys available to the ‘3 children out of 10’ in Selby who may be living in poverty.

The Hartlepool Giving Tree has been so popular this year that they have expanded their area and are donating to people and charities all over the UK. This is an amazing project which creates a Christmas tag for a child, asking for a specific item for Christmas, you can then choose which child you buy for and send them their gift. Many of these children are fleeing domestic violence and have had to leave everything, all of their toys behind.

Donate gift cards or household objects
IDAS Christmas appeal are asking for bedding sets, crockery, towels, cheap mobile phones for those fleeing domestic violence.

For more ideas on ways you can spread some Christmas cheer this year, take a look at this blog by one of our development officers, Lizzie – It’ll be Covid this Christmas.

If you have any other thoughts or ideas we’d love to hear from you so we can share these with others. We’d love to hear how you are supporting people in your community. Please tag us on Facebook @Comm1stYorks

 

It’ll be Covid this Christmas

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Christmas this year is going to be a little different. Covid restrictions mean many events and activities are unable to take place and opportunities for people to get together will be limited. Perhaps now more than ever we might need to think about supporting each other just a little more.

As part of our #DonateLocal campaign we’ve been thinking of ways people can spread Christmas cheer.   If you have any other thoughts or ideas we’d love to hear from you so we can share these with others.

Donate Time:

  • Christmas cards – Make, or buy these from local shops and deliver these locally. You may like to include your number with a message to let someone know they can get in touch if they need help with anything or just a chat.
  • Write to care home residents – Contact your local care home and see if they would welcome Christmas cards and letters. Some local shops are offering post collection boxes for exchange of post.
  • Telephone befriending – Across North Yorkshire there are a network of mutual aid and 23 Community Support Organisations (CSOs) helping those in need in our communities. Many of the CSOs are seeking people who could telephone others and offer a lifeline of friendship. You can find out further details of the CSO for your area here. The NHS and Royal Voluntary Service’s ‘Christmas Together’ initiative also aims to support people living alone or shielding by connecting them with a friendly voice who can phone them for a chat. You can also still sign up to be a Community Response Volunteer with the NHS, collecting and delivering shopping and other essentials, such as medication, to vulnerable people, by car or by foot.
  • Volunteering For life – not just for Christmas – search for volunteering roles on the NCVO (the National Council for Volunteering Organisation) website. There are links to multiple volunteering websites from organisations such as Vinspired, and Volunteering Matters.
  • Social media – support a charity by following and sharing its social media comments.
  • The Great Winter Get Together, organised by the Jo Cox Foundation, runs from 14 December to 18 January, and encourages people to help out by joining virtual events, supporting a neighbour, or reaching out to an old friend

Volunteering your time isn’t the only option.

Donate Goods or Money:

  • Christmas fundraise for a local charity – There are lots of ways you can help from donating things you no longer need to offering neighbourhood services such as a gift wrapping or Christmas tree/recycling collections for a donation. You will need to arrange drop off/collection points to avoid contact.  What about a sponsored swim or walk, decorating the outside of your house and asking for donations for a charity?  With things being a little different this Christmas, lots of charities are asking people to get involved in festive fundraising digitally this year. Dress Up as an Elf – Alzheimers Society, go through Yorkshire Air Ambulance Advent calendar are just some of the options.  If you care about a cause, have a look on their website or social media and see how you can help.
  • Donate to your local food bank – Food banks provide an essential lifeline for families all year round, but especially at Christmas and especially in 2020. There are a number of food banks across North Yorkshire who, due to increasing demand, are seeking donations. You can donate items in the boxes/trolleys in local shops and supermarkets or alternatively cash donations are always welcome.  You can find details of current food shortages on group Facebook pages.
  • Donate to your local animal shelter – Why not contact them to see how you can help, from knitting dog blankets they can use or sell, to sponsoring a dog.

Christmas will undoubtedly be different this year, but there are still many ways that we can make it special. Perhaps one thing we’ve all seen this year is the value of kindness to others. The ideas above are just some of the ways that you can give something back to your community, and help as many people as possible have a merry Christmas.

We’d love to hear how you are supporting people in your community. Please tag us on Facebook @Comm1stYorks   

Your voluntary and community sector needs a Trustee like you!

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Communities are coming together to face challenges of the day

Over the last few months we have seen the power of people coming together to volunteer and support their communities. Many of these volunteers have been co-ordinated by charities and organisations who have rapidly adapted and developed new services to help in this seemingly ever changing world.

Trustees – volunteer leaders from all walks of life

Behind the scenes of many of these organisations have been the trustees – also known as board or committee members, directors or governors.  Trustees are those volunteers who lead these organisations, decide how they are run and make sure a charity is doing what it was set up to do.

Trustees come from all walks of life, backgrounds and life stages.  Some have roles needing specific skills, such as experience of senior management, finance or HR and increasingly digital. Others have roles requiring lived experience, enthusiasm and drive. Time commitments vary depending on an organisation’s size and activities.  In smaller charities involvement is more likely to be hands on, in larger organisations the role may involve more support and liaison with the staff team.

The difference you can make as a trustee

Being a trustee offers a unique opportunity to support a cause from the inside, to develop or enhance leadership skills, to use or develop professional/managerial/business skills and experience all while contributing ideas and knowledge to make a difference to an organisation and in turn the community it serves.

But don’t just take our word for it. Visit our YouTube channel and watch our playlist ‘Why be a trustee?’. Please note these pieces were filmed pre covid.

How can you get involved as a trustee?

If you’re interested in finding out more about what’s involved take a look at our information sheet on What Do Trustees Do?

Ahead of this Year’s Trustees Week (2 – 6 November) a wealth of new resources with further information about what’s involved in being a Trustee are also becoming available including this new book by Directory of Social Change How to Become a Charity Trustee  and a new guide with the same name from Getting on Board.

North Yorkshire needs trustees – could you be one of them?

Search for volunteering roles on the NCVO (the National Council for Volunteering Organisation) website. There are links to multiple volunteering websites from organisations such as Vinspired, and Volunteering Matters.