Today, we’re launching our Christmas 2024 campaign to raise much-needed funds for our charity and keep our services going. However, we also want to raise as much awareness as possible for those who need it and the conditions they face at a difficult time of year.
There are no holidays or breaks for people experiencing homelessness, and Christmas is no exception.
While Christmas is a warm, fun, festive time for most people, our service users aren’t so lucky to enjoy the same experience and rely heavily on our services for not only normality and routine but also warmth, comfort, and a friendly face.
We aim to bring light in what can be quite a dark time for others; however, we cannot do this without your help.
What do we do?
- Our day centre will provide breakfasts and festive lunches from the Heart of Worcestershire college lunch project, alongside companionship for the homeless and/or vulnerable.
- Working alongside local organisations to ensure our service users enjoy an array of festive events throughout December.
- Giving out the very generously donated Christmas boxes/drawstring bags to service users to offer the basics and festive cheer!
- Organising one-off events for our service users to enjoy throughout the month.
In addition to our Christmas festivities, the ongoing battle of supporting all rough sleepers across Worcestershire is still the core focus of our priorities, so how do we do this?:
- Ensure our countywide outreach team is available and continues to provide individually tailored support. From taking food to peoples’ tents to meeting individuals in our drop-in services, we’re there to build trust, provide pathways and support people off the streets.
- Offer warm clothing and wanted items such as sleeping bags, rucksacks, bedding and much more to those with nothing through our Clothing Project.
- Our Harm Reduction team will continue to engage people with services to address alcohol, substance misuse and any health-related issues associated with substance dependency, especially over the festive period.
How can you help us?
Donate, donate, donate!
Imagine a cold, dark Christmas with nowhere to turn or go. This is the harsh reality that some of our service users face during the festive period. Your donations can help us bring joy to those with the bare minimum, and however big or small your contribution is, you will truly be making a difference and allow us to continue our services, especially during the colder months.
Visit our Just Giving page and follow the simple instructions to donate!
Organise a festive fundraiser!
With Christmas being such a busy time, full of many events and things to do, why not organise an event and raise money for charity simultaneously?
We can help support your efforts in fundraising for Maggs with our helpful fundraising team, event tips, and branded marketing materials should you need them.
We have a Christmas fundraising pack, equipped with tips, ideas and forms to make your fundraising efforts as easy as possible. Download the pack here.
Looking for something fun to do in your office? We also have a new office advent calendar, new for 2024. Download the sheet here.
Volunteer your time
If you want to do something meaningful over the holiday period, we have several volunteering opportunities to help us support our service users throughout Christmas. Whether this is cooking breakfast in our day centre, helping in our Clothing Project or even volunteering your skills in another capacity, please get in touch!
Christmas Shoe Boxes & Drawstring Bags
Each year, we’re incredibly lucky enough to have many people contacting us regarding donating shoe boxes and what items we want to include for our service users.
As always, we’re overwhelmed by the public’s generosity in creating and donating shoe boxes, and they’re always well received by our service users. Plus, who doesn’t love a Christmas shoe box?
However, this year, we request that these be put into reusable drawstring bags that our service users can use as well as the items. This would eliminate cardboard wastage and offer something additional to the lovely gifts in the boxes.
We will have more updates throughout November and December, so please keep your eyes peeled across our social media channels to find out more!
If you would like some more information on how you can get involved and support Maggs, please contact marketing@maggsdaycentre.co.uk.
