Giving back at Christmas: charity appeals & volunteering opportunities

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Central: Crisis & The Salvation Army

Crisis, the national charity for homeless people, is looking for volunteers in all fields to help out in its centres this Christmas. From musicians to teachers, healthcare workers to hairdressers, the charity is calling on professionals – as well as those willing to offer more general support – to volunteer at their centres, which are extremely busy at this time of year.

The Salvation Army also works with homeless people as well as vulnerable older people, those suffering from drug and alcohol addiction, and victims of human trafficking and other major emergencies. There are many opportunities to volunteer at Salvation Army churches and community centres over Christmas, and tasks involve everything from sorting donated presents from the Toys & Tins Appeal to serving festive meals and helping out at the charity’s winter night shelters.

North: London Basket Brigade & Shelter from the Storm

The Basket Brigade takes donations – both edible and financial – all year round in order to put together Christmas hampers to feed families struggling to make ends meet. On Friday 23 December, the donations are put to good use as the hampers are delivered to homes across the city. The London Basket Brigade is looking for volunteers to help deliver the baskets and make Christmas happen for those relying on the charity’s support.

Islingtonites, meanwhile, might want to register for a shift with Shelter from the Storm, the borough’s free homeless centre which is open all year round but busiest over the festive period. Volunteers are currently needed in the morning to prepare and serve breakfast; in the evening to help with cooking, cleaning and spending time talking with the shelter’s residents; and overnight to help keep guests safe.

South: Rotary Club & Community Christmas

Every year, the Rotary Club in Wandsworth puts on a Christmas lunch for elderly local citizens. The event usually seats around 450 guests and relies on volunteers to ensure everything runs smoothly. Tasks include setting up the venue on Christmas Eve, escorting guests to and from their homes via pre-arranged coaches on the day, preparing and serving the lunch, and clearing everything away following the afternoon’s entertainment. Volunteers also get to enjoy a plate of the full works and join the guests in dancing, sing-alongs and bingo. Help is also needed again on Boxing Day to clear up the marquee and kitchens.

Community Christmas is another charity with a mission to ensure older people are not alone on Christmas Day. The charity operates from a range of outlets across the UK, so use the search function on the site to find the nearest Community Christmas branch to you.

West: Mayhew Animal Welfare Charity

Animal welfare charities like Mayhew often find themselves overrun during the Christmas period, when staff numbers are low and the number of animals being brought in high. Mayhew in Kensal Green is one such charity. Funded entirely by the public, it relies on over 1,000 hours of volunteer time per month to look after its animals – up to 30 dogs and 150 cats at any given time. Volunteers (who must be 18) are asked to commit to the same shifts each week but can choose the amount of time that’s right for them. Roles include everything from working on the reception desk to cleaning out kennels and walking dogs.

If you can’t commit to regular shifts but live within an hour’s drive of Mayhew, you can also foster a cat or dog, while the charity looks for a permanent home. Alternatively, you can support Mayhew’s work financially by donating via their website (it takes a hefty £6,000 a day to run the charity), or join the team for a jolly at their Christmas carol concert on 3 December at St Giles-in-the-Fields. Tickets cost £20 (or £10 for children) and while your furry friends will have to sit this one out, you can pick up treats for them in the raffle as well as mince pies and a well-earned glass of mulled wine for yourself.

East: Hackney Winter Night Shelter

Hackney Winter Night Shelter is a year-round facility run by a body of 600 volunteers, that operates out of several venues around Hackney. As with most London shelters, Hackney Winter Night Shelter is particularly busy over the festive period and relies on its volunteers to assemble beds, cook, serve food and make conversation with guests. Overnight volunteers are also needed for shifts to ensure guests have a peaceful night, and to help serve breakfast in the morning. Those with special skills – such as a foreign language – are particularly in demand, while those willing to help with laundry or to simply play a game of Scrabble with guests are also valuable to the team.

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The concept store in aid of the refugee crisis: Choose Love pop-up store

Nestled among the various fashion chains and designer boutiques in Carnaby Street is a pop-up shop with a difference: Choose Love. Established by Help Refugees, the world’s first store to sell physical products for refugees is back for another festive season. The Carnaby shop is an educational experience as much as it's a charitable one, inviting shoppers to learn why each item is useful to a displaced person.

Visitors can buy items for any stage of a refugee's journey, from food and water to warm winter coats and baby gear.

Limited-edition tees and 'Choose Love' prints are popular, and you'll also find customisable gift cards. Prices start at just a fiver and go up to £550, for anyone who wants to buy the whole store. Choose Love is currently supporting over 120 projects around the globe to help refugees and those who have been displaced.

Click here for more on Choose Love

The charity that lets you sponsor a homeless Londoner: Beam

Beam is a social enterprise helping to support homeless Londoners by giving homeless people the skills and support networks they need. You can crowdfund someone to support their journey, and get updated on their progress along the way.

Beam has set up a 'Donate Your Christmas Party' campaign; whether you're doing a Zoom wine tasting or quiz night or heading out for a skating session, you can support Beam's initiatives.

Click here for more information on how to donate to Beam

Photo: Beam is helping Hussein, Claude & Leo in training as electricians

The charity helping rehabilitate prisoners: Fine Cell Work

Fine Cell Work is a criminal justice charity working to enable prisoners to build fulfilling and crime-free lives by training them to do skilled, creative needlework – undertaken in their prison cells – with the aim of it fostering hope, discipline and self-esteem. The handmade felt baubles make a gorgeous and heartfelt gift.

Click here for more on Fine Cell Work

The cookery school supporting refugees: Migrateful

At Migrateful, you can learn how to make exquisite dishes from around the world, while supporting people originally from those countries. Both a cookery school and language initiative, Migrateful supports asylum seekers, refugees and migrants who are struggling to access employment in the UK due to legal and linguistic barriers, by lending them a hub from which they can teach the public how to make their nation's traditional cuisine.

Pick between a range of virtual cooking classes (there are also in-person ones in Peckham), including Albanian, Bengali, Sudanese and Syrian cuisine. As well as learning international recipes, these fun and easy-going classes are a chance to practise a different language and enjoy a cultural exchange, all for a good cause.

Click here for more on Migrateful

The charity uniting people through art this Christmas: WIILMA

East London-based charity WIILMA is calling on the public to indulge their creative sides to help those who are most vulnerable and isolated this Christmas.

WIILMA has launched a lockdown Art Competition for artists of all ages and abilities. Choose from three themes – Black History, the traditions of a culture of interest or a quotation that shaped 2020 for you. The works will be displayed as part of an exhibition at Leyton and Leytonstone Library, and a panel of judges will select a winner.

WIILMA is also working on a live-streamed concert for Christmas, featuring musicians from The Royal Albert Hall and many more, which can be enjoyed on YouTube or Facebook Live from the comfort of home.

Click here for more information on WIILMA

The charity spreading the joy of reading far and wide: Book Aid

If, for you, a large part of Christmas involves curling up with a good book, why not pay forward that pleasure? Book Aid International is a charity based on the principle that everyone should have the opportunity to read, whatever their circumstances.

Working both locally and abroad, the charity supplies books to libraries and organisations in schools, prisons and refugee camps. Reverse Book Tokens, whereby you send books to people who need them most, start at just £2.

Click here for more on Book Aid

The charities looking out for our four-legged friends: The Donkey Sanctuary, and RSPCA

If carols and Christmas cards have got you thinking about little donkeys plodding through the winter’s night, you might want to make a donation to The Donkey Sanctuary this Christmas. The charity operates 10 sanctuaries around the UK and Europe, giving lifelong care to over 6,000 donkeys and reaching 1.8 million donkeys in total worldwide.

Donors can choose to either give a one-off donation, set up a direct debit or even adopt a donkey for £3 a month. Gifters will be told the name, birthday and location of their donkey, and sent two framed portraits of their new furry friend, too.

Click here to support The Donkey Sanctuary

Another charity looking out for vulnerable animals this Christmas is the RSPCA. Through its Christmas Rescue appeal, you can help an animal that's been abused or abandoned.

Click here to support the RSPCA