This Christmas the UK faces a child poverty and homelessness crisis – and we need your help.
According to the Child Poverty Action Group, one child in three will spend the next two years living on the breadline. That’s 4 million children living in acute poverty in the eight largest economy in the world.
Let’s think about what that means for a moment.
Across the country, while many of us will be celebrating the festive period with family and friends, 30% of the UK child population will be eating meals collected from a foodbank.
That’s if they’re lucky. If they’re unlucky, they’ll be in temporary accommodation. Shelter, the homelessness charity, estimates that 90,000 children in the UK spend Christmas this way.
These are real issues that affect children and young people every day. They don’t stop just because its Christmas.
LandAid directly funds those local charities that provide careful care and support to children and young people who have experienced poverty and homelessness, and the social problems all-too-often connected with these (unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, prostitution, mental health issues).
Young people like Lizzie, who went from living in her car with her mum and almost being expelled from school to turning her life around at one of our grant-funded projects, Jamie’s Farm.
We want to do much more to help people like Lizzie. As an industry, we collectively need to do much more to help them.
This Christmas LandAid is asking its supporters to give in one of the following ways:
1. Make a corporate donation
Twenty-six companies supported our Christmas Card Alternative this year, helping us to hit a fundraising high of £29,500. That’s a refurbishment grant to a vital project right there. You still have time to support the scheme – for a minimum donation of £500 we’ll announce your support to our network and give you a e-card to send to your supporters. Here’s how you do it.
2. Make an individual donation
Not able to commit to a £500 donation? You can still support our cause by donating individually. Every penny goes a long way when we come to allocating grants to those grassroots charities who most need our support. If every individual in the property industry gave just £5, imagine what we could fund. You can donate by text, online or by cheque – here’s how you do it.
3. Give as you shop
If you opted to avoid the #BlackFriday/#CyberMonday Christmas shoppingathon, but are still planning to buy presents online, there is a really easy way to raise money for us while doing it. Simply log in to easyfundraising.org.uk and everytime you buy something the retailer makes a donation to us. Here’s how you do it.
4. Become a foundation partner
Join our growing network of corporate partners. We have over 70 Foundation Partners who commit to a minimum donation of £10,000 per year. If you are allocating budgets for next year and want to make a meaningful contribution to a charity, do it for us. Contact Leah De Silva.
Help us to make a real and lasting impact on disadvantaged young lives in 2015.
Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.