Ways to Make a Difference at Christmas

7 Ways to Make a Difference This Christmas

Nov 15 2019 by Elle Taylor

As the excesses of Christmas stack up, it can make you take stock and want to give back in some way. There are many easy ways to make a difference and give to others in need. Doing good deeds during the festive season can kick-start the momentum to keep going into the new year too.

From donating to charities, giving to food banks, and volunteering at homeless shelters to connecting with the elderly, keeping animals without a home warm, and buying gifts that give proceeds to good causes, we've rounded up the events and initiatives taking place over the festive period that you can get involved with.

Image Source: Getty / Ariel Skelley

Give to Food Banks

Figures from The Trussell Trust show that December is the busiest month for food banks, and December figures are rapidly increasing every year. You can do your bit by donating food to your local food bank — find yours here — or at collection points in supermarkets. Nonperishable items you can donate include:

Tinned food (such as meat, veg, fruit, tomatoes, pasta sauce)
Pasta, rice, beans, pulses, and lentils
Cereal
Soup
Tea, coffee, UHT milk, and fruit juice
Biscuits
Toiletries
Hygiene products

You can also donate long-life food to one of FareShare's 100 permanent collection points in Tesco stores.

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Serve Community Meals

You can actually get involved in serving food at a community meal centre like FoodCycle or help to collect the surplus food from companies that will then be cooked and served.

FoodCycle has 39 projects across the UK, or you could search for an independent organisation near you.

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Spend Time With the Elderly

Christmas can be a particularly lonely time of year for the elderly, and the smallest of gestures can make a huge difference to a neighbour or someone in your local community who lives alone. Age UK has ideas for "small acts of kindness" once you've introduced yourself and built up rapport and trust:

Invite them for a cup of tea and mince pies
Offer to walk their dog or pick up their shopping
Accompany them to a local festive event
Sweep the leaves/shovel the snow from their path
Take them to a medical appointment
Regularly phone them
Simply strike up a conversation and have a chat

Image Source: Pexels / Matthias Zomer

Provide Warmth to Animals at Sanctuaries

Many unwanted animals will be spending Christmas in a shelter or sanctuary, so help them be more comfortable by donating bedding like blankets and towels. Most ask you to avoid pillows and duvets, as they are challenging to keep clean. Some will welcome animal food and newspapers too. Check first what they need — you can find your local RSPCA centre here.

You can also donate toys, treats, baskets, crates, and many other items to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home or even follow its patterns to make knitted blankets and toy mice.

Image Source: Pexels / Pixabay

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Volunteer at Homeless Shelters

You can volunteer with Crisis at Christmas to provide immediate help for homeless people. Different centres require different roles, which vary from providing well-being services like haircuts and massages to bringing your creative and artistic skills. The centres are located in:

Birmingham
Coventry
Edinburgh
London
Newcastle
Oxford
South Wales

You can also donate a few hours of your time to help at London train stations and Covent Garden as a bucket collection volunteer.

If there isn't a centre near you, check online for Christmas volunteering opportunities at soup kitchens and homeless shelters in your local area.

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Give a Gift that Helps the Developing World

Instead of giving stuff this Christmas, you can give your nearest and dearest the warm feeling of knowing that their present is actually a lifeline for someone in need — we're talking virtual/inspired/charity/unwrapped gifts.

These can be anything from a Bog in a Bag through WaterAid for £10 and Safe Water for a Family of Four through Oxfam for £10 to a Large First Aid Kit for a Health Worker through Unicef for £25 or a Place in School For a Child through Save the Children for £158.

Here's a selection of charities that offer these kinds of gifts:

Donate to Charities

Finally, if you're short of time, you can still make a difference by donating money to your chosen charities. You can also donate in someone else's name, which you can do instead of getting them a gift or as an alternative way of thanking them for what they give you.

If you're looking into new charities to support, make sure they have a registered charity number on their website to be sure your money is going somewhere legitimate.