Campaign Christmas

A campaign to help bring in small Christmas gifts for vulnerable and lonely people, including young people, has been launched by Adullam Homes Housing Association.

The appeal is not asking for money, but for donations of items that people have that they are unlikely to use, want to regift, or can spare from their bathroom cabinets or food cupboards.

A series of social media posts and posters has been created, each specific to a geographical location in which Adullam has projects. These provide details of preferred items and where donors can drop them off.

The hope is that everyone for whom Adullam provides support will receive a gift of some kind. In many cases, without this, the individuals concerned would receive nothing at all.

In projects where floating support is provided or the accommodation is dispersed, many of the people will be on their own at Christmas too. For this reason, in places such as Birmingham the team is asking for items such as crossword books, sudoku puzzles and jigsaws, to help prevent boredom and keep recipients occupied.

The hope is that by asking for items people might have, they will be more willing to donate than if they were asked for money.

Jenny Morgan, Head of Support Services at Adullam, said: “At a time when everyone is struggling, we are asking them to look in the back of the cupboard for that gift set they have never opened, the make-up that’s not their shade, the small hotel items you might have accumulated, the bathroom basket full of items nobody in the household would use.

“Our projects will be really grateful of anything like this. We have projects in locations including Alfreton, Birmingham, Bolton, Bury,  Buxton, Chesterfield, Congleton, Denbighshire,  Leicester, Oadby, and Sheffield.

We ask people in these areas to look out for our posts and posters, and if possible to do something to help other people at this time of year.”