Charity at Christmas:
How to make a difference in Liverpool

Christmas is a time for giving and society has a duty to ensure the good will extends to those who need it most. While many are exchanging gifts, sipping brandy and tucking into turkey dinners, the community’s most vulnerable find their everyday hardships magnified during the festive period. But help is at hand in Liverpool as organisations, charities and big-hearted individuals are doing their bit to support the city’s needy this Christmas, and Your Move is spotlighting their initiatives and sharing tips for readers who are eager to pitch in.

Words by Mark Langshaw

Home for Christmas

Members of Merseyside’s homeless community want nothing more than the things many of us take for granted at Christmas, such as a roof over their head and a hot meal.

Fortunately there are people working tirelessly to ensure they aren’t left out in the cold, like the folks at the Whitechapel Centre, an organisation which has provided support to 2,800 people affected by homelessness and other social issues over the last year.

Situated on Langsdale Street, the centre is open throughout the holiday period to deliver advice, hot food, showers and clean clothes for those in need.

On Christmas Day, the Whitechapel Centre will serve breakfast to rough sleepers and a three-course festive lunch, during which attendees will be provided with entertainment, gift bags and food parcels.

Its staff are resolute in their efforts to support the city’s homeless, but initiatives like its festive dinner would not be possible without the help of volunteers and the generosity of its supporters – and this is where you can lend a hand.

The centre is appealing for donations of food, decorations and presents to make this Christmas a happy one for its service users, while monetary support is always welcome and indeed vital for the longevity of the facility and the services it provides.

The Whitechapel Centre is also seeking volunteers to sort and distribute aid packages during the holidays. Information about how to get involved can be found at www.whitechapelcentre.co.uk.

Small gift, big difference

Nobody should be alone at Christmas, but almost half a million elderly people are at risk of spending the holidays in isolation.

Thankfully, Merseyside’s seniors have initiatives like White Christmas to make sure this isn’t the case and 2016’s event promises to be the biggest yet.

Held at the swanky Titanic Hotel, White Christmas Liverpool will provide a free dinner and entertainment for hundreds of people who would otherwise be spending 25 December alone.

The project, now in its fourth year, began as an initiative to help isolated pensioners but has since expanded to support all age groups.

It’s the effort of volunteers and supporters which makes White Christmas possible, and this year they include Fare Share Liverpool, Jamie Carragher’s 23 Foundation and a St Helens farmer who has donated fresh produce for the dinner, not to mention the Titanic Hotel and its staff.

Members of the public were also invited to volunteer and pitch in on the day and all of the slots were quickly filled – but that doesn’t mean you can’t get involved.

White Christmas project manager Clare Johnson tells Your Move that donations of small gifts are still welcome, and the team is looking for items which cost no more than £5 such as woolly hats or packets of biscuits.

Moreover, cash donations are being encouraged and an online raffle is being held to raise further funds for the cause, with prizes including a signed Carragher shirt and restaurant meals.

Log onto www.facebook.com/WhiteChristmasNW for more information.

Delivering good will

Most households will have an old shoebox or two lying around, probably filled with random clutter.

But many will be put to better use this Christmas as the Shoebox Full of Love appeal returns to Merseyside for a third year running.

Organised by Huyton-born Vorny Redmond, the campaign will see shoeboxes and other containers filled with everyday essentials donated to the region’s homeless, as well as the vulnerable men, women, children and veterans of Merseyside.

Vorny is appealing for volunteers to take on the role of drivers and sorters as the benevolent operation comes to a head.

Find out how you can get involved by visiting www.facebook.com/shoeboxfulloflove.

Make a child’s day

Established in memory of James Bulger, the James Bulger Memorial Trust was founded by mother Denise Fergus in 2010 to help disadvantaged youngsters in his name.

Last December, this brief was expanded to include donating presents to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital to brighten the lives of its patients on Christmas Day – a good deed the organisation will repeat this year.

The trust is calling for the public to drop off unwrapped gifts at its office in Kirkby so they can, in turn, be distributed to the good causes and worthy organisations it supports.

This year they include Alder Hey, the NSPCC, Kirkby town centre appeal, Alfie Lund Fund, Cash for Kids and OLLIE. More information is available at forjames.org.

Mistletoe and rhymes

The needs of care leavers are often overlooked, but many young people who fall into this demographic require additional support after passing through the system.

Poet Lemn Sissay, who spent his teenage years at a Wigan care home, launched the Christmas Dinner project in Manchester in 2013 to combat social isolation and build a sense of community among the city’s young care leavers, and this year the initiative is expanding to Liverpool.

Run entirely by volunteers, the Liverpool event will run concurrently with Manchester, Oxford, Hackney and Leeds editions, offering attendees the chance to enjoy a hearty meal and spend Christmas Day with individuals they can empathise with at a safe and secure location.

So how can you get involved in this good cause? Well, Lemn and his team of volunteers are in need of extra presents to hand to their guests and have put together an Amazon Wish List highlighting the kind of gifts that will go down well.

The appeal is primarily aimed at businesses, but donations from individuals are also welcome, providing they submit them before the deadline.

For details of how to get involved email lcdinner16@gmail.com.

Emergency festive food

Foodbanks were created to support the notion that nobody should ever have to go hungry

and they are more important than ever during the Christmas period when budgets are at their tightest.

The Hope+ Foodbank is a joint operation between Liverpool’s two cathedrals and local faith communities to help those in food poverty and provide them with debt advice, benefit claims assistance, parenting skills and back to work training.

The initiative’s organisers are seeking donations of food, toiletries and clothes as well as monetary support from generous members of the public to help them through the busy Christmas period. Visit www.hopefoodbank.org.uk for information on getting involved.

Meanwhile, the Trussell Trust runs a 400-strong network of foodbanks nationwide to provide people in crisis with a minimum of three days’ worth of nutritional meals. It has north, south and central Liverpool operations and 90% of the goods it distributes have been donated by the public.

Those who can spare non-perishables including tinned food, cereal, teabags and toiletries are encouraged to take them to their local drop-off point, usually a supermarket or community building.

Visit www.trusselltrust.org for information about your nearest foodbank and drop-off point.