Supporting Christmas Charity Campaigns
The Clare Foundation are currently working with Bucks based local charities and not for profit organisations who are planning, or thinking of planning Christmas holiday campaigns.
By coming together at a recent roundtable event, we were able to map out the provision of Christmas holiday support across the county.
Our aim is to help drive these campaigns forward to ensure residents in the Bucks community are well-looked after over the festive season.
“I am delighted that The Clare Foundation team have brought together 35 specialists and leading Buckinghamshire Charities alongside Buckinghamshire Council leaders for this Roundtable event. We discussed their Christmas Holiday plans, delivery models and campaigns to help those most in need as we approach the festive season. With COVID-19 still impacting a considerable number of people, there will be needs across the community. By coming together to discuss and share has helped us to look at the unmet needs. We look forward to working with everyone over the next few months on this campaign.”
Martin Gallagher CEO, The Clare Foundation.
We identified four main themes that we felt should be an immediate focus –
- Food – emergency food parcels and Christmas/festive food parcels
- Schemes benefitting children – toy appeals, school Christmas holiday activities
- Schemes benefitting adults – people living on their own who will be isolated this holiday season or schemes to support victims of domestic violence
- Financial support and grants for individuals’ or households experiencing financial insecurity
We were delighted to have 2 guest speakers who talked openly about the schemes that they are running – Paul Irwin from Bernie Bus and Frances Kneller from The Chiltern Toy Bank. Their insights and guidance were really valuable in helping us to map out how the campaigns might be organised and managed.
We look forward to our next roundtable event where we will work collaboratively with the interested parties to start to plan the work and support needed to drive the campaigns.
“Thank you so very much for hosting such an informative, engaging, diverse and productive Round Table on Christmas Activities which support our community. It was a fantastic opportunity to virtually-meet so many likeminded people and that initiated talks to share ideas, learning and resources. We look forward to attending more sessions with you in the future.”
Ruth Mayhew, Senior Events Officer, Aylesbury Town Council
“I found the Christmas Roundtable event facilitated by The Clare Foundation to be extremely useful and well-delivered. Not only did it allow Wycombe Wanderers Sports & Education Trust to learn about some of the great Christmas provision being planned across Bucks, but it also gave us an insight into potential areas of unmet need, therefore allowing us to plan accordingly. It was also very encouraging to witness numerous organisations establishing collaborative relationships on the call, which will no doubt result in increased positive outcomes for the local people of Buckinghamshire.“
Paul Foley, Head of Wycombe Wanderas Sports & Education Trust
