Christmas really is the most wonderful time of year for some, but for some people Christmas is cold, lonely and a time of great struggle. In light of this, Investors In Community decided to take action and encourage people to get back into the True Spirit of Christmas and give back to those in need.

In this blog we discuss five things you can do this Christmas to support your community:

1. Host your own Christmas Party fundraiser.

We at Investors In Community have teamed up with YES Entertainment to create the perfect ‘Christmas party with a twist’.

Simply choose from a range of entertainment options from; live cocktail making, wine tasting, magicians and even dancing – the choice is yours.

• The gift that keeps on giving:

Then choose a charity or good cause you wish to support this Christmas. The team at Investors In Community will help you build a fundraising campaign around your local community and, as it’s the season for giving, Investors In Community will automatically donate £10 to your chosen charity for each guest that attends your party! In addition they will match fund the first £100 raised! Yes, that’s right, it’s the gift that keeps on giving!

• The benefits are endless:

With lots of customisable options to choose from, including ‘virtual parties’ which are not only cost effective and more environmentally friendly, but this winter will help you avoid those dreaded potential disruptions of social restrictions or guests having to cancel due to having to self-isolate.

With this option you can expand your guest list! Why not invite your key customers, supply chains or partners to join in the fun.

• Be a responsible business and improve your Social Impact:

Be a responsible business this Christmas, keep your guests safe and give your employees and guests a night to remember whilst also giving back to your community. This all helps you as a company demonstrate your community spirit and Social Impact efforts. As we say “giving is the new marketing” so you will indeed get a return on investment from your Christmas party festivities!

So don’t miss out, join in the fun and host your own party with a difference or email: Louise.richardson@investorsincommity.org to learn more.

2. Donate warm clothes.

This is an incredibly thoughtful and kind act as over the Christmas period the weather can be a challenge. The severe cold means that most spend their nights shivering and simple hat and scarf can make all the difference!

It’s also great for the planet, donating your clothes instead of throwing them into the rubbish can help fight landfill and reduces the need for fast fashion.

If all of this hasn’t convinced you, it’s also a fantastic way to clean out and organise your wardrobe and you never know, you may find some hidden gems during your clean out.

There are many charities on the IIC platform who would love nothing more than your generous donation this year.

3. Give to food banks.

We all overstock the fridge at Christmas, but what if rather than eating more than we can manage, we gave to those in need? Find a local food bank and offer to volunteer or donate your excess food, you can’t imagine how many people you would help.

Foodbanks provide food and household items to hundreds of local families in their time of hardship. Your local foodbanks support needy families all year round and they need your generous donations so they can purchase the items that are needed.

Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year for food banks due to rising costs in heating and lighting. They need your support now more than ever and every donation, big or small will help them provide their local community with these incredible resources.

4. Donate Christmas gifts to children in need.

There are so many children in need of a special gift this Christmas, but did you know you can donate Christmas gifts to children via charity?

There are a couple of charities on the Investors In Community platform asking for gift donations this year and this is a great way to add a personal touch when donating. You can go out and select the perfect toy and donate to the charity of your choice, they can even share an impact statement once the project has closed so you know all the good your donation did!

Scratch Charity says: “Christmas should be an exciting time for children, although sometimes – through no fault of their own or their families – there’s a risk they won’t wake up to a sackful of presents. That’s where SCRATCH steps in with our Christmas Complete project, which in December 2020 provided 2393 children and young people with a package of seven or eight presents each (an increase of 15% from the previous year. The need will be no less this year with many local families having been impacted by COVID-19 and we want to be able to help all families referred to us.”

Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity is hosting their Christmas Fair on the 4^th of December. As part of this fair, they’re inviting the children that Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity support to come and meet Santa and they would like to be able to provide these children with presents from Santa in the Grotto. If you’re heading out shopping for your family anyway, why not pick up a toy to donate, even one toy can make a huge difference to a child’s Christmas!

5. Charity Advent calendar.

We’ve all had an advent calendar, right? Well, what if rather than receiving something for everyday of advent, you were to give something instead? Pick 24 charities to receive a donation from you each day throughout December and donate to each of them.

We have plenty of charities to choose from on the Investors In Community platform so you’ll never be short of options. You could make it fun whereby every Monday you donate to an animal charity and every Wednesday you donate to a children’s charity, or get the whole family involved and have each person choose their own charity for each day!

It doesn’t have to be a huge donation every day, donate whatever amount works for you and remember that even by donating a small amount, you can make a huge difference.

We hope you take these ideas and incorporate at least one of them into your festive plans!