Whilst most of the UK population look forward to the festivities of Christmas, spare a thought for those who have no choice but to sleep on the streets and who do not enjoy the same luxury of a roof over their heads that others take for granted. Just because the winter months and freezing temperatures are a danger to our homeless community, the care and support they need are an all year round course of action, not just at Christmas time.
With Christmas viewed at the season of giving and sharing good times with family and friends, offering a hand of support to the homeless makes a very powerful and impactful difference. Figures released by homeless charity, Crisis in December 2018 show that 61% of the UK population feel upset or frustrated at our nation’s homelessness situation. But, there are many ways we can all work together to help our homeless community at Christmas, raising funds for homeless organisations
By donating money and clothes, volunteering at a shelter or organising a fundraising event.
Here at Recycled Clothing Banks, we work with homeless charities to help proving FREE clothing bins for people to donate their unwanted clothes, shoes and bedding which can all be reused and can make a positive difference to someone’s life on the streets.
Rather than sell your unwanted clothes on eBay or Facebook Marketplace, you could put them to better use by donating them to those who need them most or organising the installation of one of our bins.
If you’d like to get involved and volunteer here are some useful links. Alternatively, armed with this information, you could pass the details on to a homeless person and help them find shelter for the festive period.
Shelter From The Storm, a free homeless shelter in Islington are always in need of volunteers. https://sfts.org.uk/volunteer/
The Whitechapel Mission has a number of voluntary roles available over Christmas, breakfast preparation, sorting through all the clothing and gifts that the shelter receives. https://whitechapel.org.uk/christmas/services
You can find your nearest local homeless shelter by entering your postcode on the Homeless Link website. https://www.homeless.org.uk/homeless-england/search-near-me
If you know of any charity that could benefit from a pre-paid cash payment to help with raising funds for homeless organisations, then we would love to hear from you. We will provide a FREE fully branded recycling bin, make a cash payment and come and collect all textiles donations when your bin is full. A simple and effective way to raise much-needed funds and make a difference to the people who need our help.
Wishing you a safe and happy Christmas.
