Let’s break the cycle of poverty for local families this Christmas
Thursday 6th December 2018Christmas is a joyous time when family gets together in celebration and make precious memories that last a lifetime. However for many, Christmas brings additional heartache and pain as they worry how they can afford to buy gifts for their friends and family.
Families are increasingly finding themselves in crisis, due to benefit sanctions, rising debt, ill health, housing concerns, violence and family legal matters. Caritas reports that their beneficiaries of projects such as Cornerstone Day Centre, Bury Red Door and The Lalley Centre who rely on school dinners and foodbanks find themselves at most pressure in holiday periods, when they struggle to cover added food and child care costs.
Caritas believes that the solution is to tackle the root of the problems through long term interventions, as in their Caritas Family Project. Working out of established community centres their professional staff support families and individuals to alleviate the impact of poverty, hardship, isolation and marginalisation. They deliver training courses to families in order to improve parenting capacity, emotional health and wellbeing; reducing isolation through access to social networks. They increase opportunities to access work and education by developing partnership and referral pathways to local services; e.g. job clubs, short courses, voluntary work and education provision. In 2018 the family project helped 255 adults and 407 children, and took 26 adults & 52 children on Family Days out.
In response to this, Caritas Diocese of Salford is has launched their 2018 Christmas Appeal. They have taken inspiration from Money Saving Expert’s pre-Christmas pre-NUPP (No Unnecessary Present Pact) asking that people agree not to buy each other presents, instead ask friends to donate to Caritas Family Project in their name. Individuals can a gift a donation card in their name or alternatively groups can fundraise for this great cause.
Supporters are invited to make a difference through the Caritas website:-
£5 would help us to supply a food parcel to someone in need
£10 would help a family to keep their tenancy, thanks to Family Project intervention
£20 would help us to safeguard a mother and child suffering domestic violence
£30 would pay for family to attend a Family Activity Day in 2019
£50 would bring a family closer together by funding a parenting course for a month
£100 would help provide a support worker at the Lalley Centre for a day to help multiple families deal with crisis situations.
It costs £300 to run a parenting course for one family.
If you want to help turn lives around, please see www.caritassalford.org.uk,call us on 0161 817 2270 or email fundraising@caritassalford.org.uk for info on how to donate.
