Press Release: Charity launches appeal to provide Christmas vouchers for over 2000 children

Press contact: Emma Gibbs – 07593 135790 / emma@littlevillagehq.org

Charity launches appeal to provide Christmas vouchers for over 2000 children

Baby bank charity, Little Village, has launched its Christmas appeal, Light Up Christmas. The charity is calling on people to donate money to help provide Christmas gift vouchers for the 2,250 children it will support in November and December.

The charity has set up a fundraising page where people can donate money which will be used to buy supermarket gift vouchers for Christmas. Every donation will be doubled, thanks to the Childhood Trust and a generous donor, who are both helping Little Village to reach its fundraising goal.

This is the first time the charity has provided families with supermarket vouchers for Christmas. In previous years it has given gifts or toy shop vouchers to families.

Little Village’s CEO, Sophie Livingstone, said:

Sophie Livingstone said:

“This Christmas may be one of the hardest for many of the families we support. The cost-of-living crisis is putting a huge strain on families in poverty, with many telling us they barely have enough money to pay the bills and buy food, let alone buy Christmas presents for their children.

“We know it’s a tricky time for everyone, but we really hope that people give generously so that we can help to light up Christmas for over two thousand of the children we support this winter. It would be wonderful to reach our fundraising goal so that we can provide these families with a Christmas gift voucher.

“By sending supermarket vouchers, we are giving families a choice over how they spend the money, many will undoubtedly buy presents, but we know that others will choose to put food on the table this Christmas.”

Mum, Hannah,* (not her real name) came to Little Village for support in providing essentials for her baby and daughter. She said:

“I love Christmas. I love everything about it, I used to go crazy at Christmas… decorating the house, buying gifts for everybody.

“Rising bills and the cost of living will make this Christmas very, very difficult. This Christmas will just be a normal day. I can’t really afford to celebrate how I used to. I can’t afford gifts for the children, it’s very sad. My daughter will be even more sad. We won’t eat anything special.

“Last year all I could afford to buy her was a little doll, it wasn’t very expensive. I’ve taught her that a gift is a gift, when somebody gives it to you, they give it with all their love. Even if it’s something very small, you should love it. For her a gift is a gift, she is always very grateful.”

In addition to the vouchers, the Light Up Christmas appeal aims to raise money for Little Village’s work in 2023 when the charity anticipates supporting more than 9,000 children.

Little Village runs a network of baby banks across London, providing clothes, toys and equipment for babies and children up to the age of five. It accepts excellent quality, pre-loved items and passes them on to families needing extra support.

2022 has been the busiest year on record for Little Village, with record numbers of families needing support in providing the essentials for their babies and young children. The cost-of-living crisis has caused a huge surge in the number of families needing help. The charity has supported over 6,000 children this year, including over 1,000 newborn babies.

The appeal launches at midday on Tuesday 29th November and closes at midday on Tuesday 6th December.

Ends

Notes to editors

Donations will be automatically doubled, thanks to the generosity of gift match donors, including the Childhood Trust, who are supporting the campaign.

You can donate to the appeal here.

About Little Village

Little Village supports families with babies and children under five living in poverty across London.  We run a baby bank network, collecting, sorting and passing on pre-loved clothes and equipment.  Parents are also supported by our dedicated signposting and guidance team, who offer advice and links to other services. In addition, we work with families to share their stories and campaign to fix the systems that trap them in poverty.

We are based in London, with hubs in Camden, Wandsworth, Southwark, Brent, Hackney and Hounslow.

Since we launched in 2016, we’ve supported over 25,000 children across London.

Our values of love, solidarity, thriving and sustainability underpin everything we do.