How you can help give every Calderdale child a gift this Christmas

With families facing rising energy bills, hikes in food prices, cuts to Universal Credit and the country still recovering from the pandemic, there are fears local festive appeals are going to be needed this year more than any other.

As we have been highlighting with our Keep Us Warm This Winter campaign, charities have been reporting a surge in need for their support and there is concern the situation will get worse over the coming months.

Nicola Freemantle, from Focus4Hope said: “People are really going to struggle. We’ve already seen an increase in people coming for help because prices have gone up.

“We’ve had at least a 10 per cent increase in requests for food parcels.

“People who had come to us previously and then sorted themselves out are coming to us again now because of the rise in prices.”

The charity is teaming up with Calderdale Lighthouse to collect toys to give as gifts to children in struggling Calderdale families and donations to create festive food hampers.

They are expecting to need around 600 food parcels - to feed families of between two and nine - and 1,200 gifts.

The response so far has been huge, with 780 gifts pledged within two days of launching their appeal.

Fellow charity Mothershare is hoping to bring some festive magic to the vulnerable Calderdale families it supports by providing everything they need at Christmas.

As well as toys, they are asking for donations such as festive food, Christmas jumpers, advent calendars and wrapping paper.

Kim Sheddon, from the charity, is also hoping for donations that will give their hard-hit children experiences they rarely get to enjoy, such as a crazy golf trip or a cinema visit.

They will be focusing on the families that they already help by providing food through their Backpack Buddies scheme.

She hopes that knowing that extra support is coming at Christmas will reduce the stress that the festive period can bring for those families.

“No child should be going without at Christmas,” she said. “It’s also important for their parents’ mental health to know what is coming. It eases the pressure on them.”

Anyone interested in donating items or being matched with a child to buy a toy can contact Mothershare. There will be several drop-off points where people can leave their gifts.

Calderdale’s Rotary Clubs have also launched their 2021 Christmas Shoebox Appeal, providing gifts for people across the borough who might otherwise receive nothing.

Their flat-pack boxes are now available from several locations to be filled up for recipients young and old.

The appeal co-ordinator, Rotarian Bryan Harkness, said: “This is the tenth year we have run the appeal and we really need the community to get behind us as we know requests for filled boxes will be as high as ever.

“There is still a great need locally to bring some joy at Christmas and Rotary’s annual appeal does just that.”

Thirty Calderdale schools have already signed up to join the appeal, along with a number of businesses, and Rotary Clubs are hoping others will follow.

Free flat-pack boxes are now available to collect and fill from Tesco in King Cross and Sowerby Bridge. Morrisons in Elland and Halifax, Sainsbury’s in Halifax, the Cook Shop at Harveys of Halifax and Marsh & Marsh Properties at Hipperholme.

What to fill the boxes with is identified on each box.

Here is how you can help.

To support Focus4Hope and Calderdale Lighthouse’s appeal, visit https://www.focus4hope.co.uk/pledge-a-gift and keep an eye on their Facebook pages for updates.

For more information about Mothershare’s appeal and to be matched with a child to buy a gift for, call 01422 763998 between 9am and 2pm Monday to Friday, email [email protected] or send a message via their Facebook page.

To fill a shoebox for Calderdale Rotary Club’s appeal, pick up a flatpack box from one of the participating outlets. For more information or if any schools or businesses want to join in, contact the appeal’s co-ordinator Bryan Harkness by email at [email protected] or by telephone on 07770 471698.