Kids Company was founded by Camila Batmanghelidjh in 1996. Kids Company provides practical, emotional and educational support to vulnerable inner-city children and young people. Its services reach 36,000 children across London and Bristol, including the most deprived and at risk whose parents are unable to care for them due to their own practical or emotional challenges. The charity provides a safe, caring, family environment where support is tailored to the needs of each individual. Their services and support empower children who have experienced enormous challenges to lead positive and fulfilling lives.
Christmas is an especially hard time of year for many of the children that use their services. As we are all busy making lists and enjoying the holidays, take time to think of those less fortunate in our own community. Raising awareness and donating can be as easy as buying something from a designated store, to organising a collection at school. Or this year, how about any ‘secret santa’ at the office go directly to Kids Company?
We recently caught up to find out more about their Christmas appeal and how people can help.
Please tell us about the Kids Company Christmas Toy Appeal and how/where can people donate?
Christmas would not be complete without the joy of a child receiving a present, the rustle of wrapping paper and the excitement that opening it brings. Our Christmas gift appeal tries to reach as many children that we support as possible. We give out about 1600 sacks to children under 12, about 700 gift bags to teenagers, and 1200 family bags. You can help us make this happen by:
- Donating to Kids Company so we can buy a child a present they desire.
- Collecting gifts and delivering them to our warehouse in Southwark.
- Choosing from the gift list we have set up with John Lewis (566276).
Please keep in mind that all presents must be new and unwrapped. We kindly ask that all donations be sent to us before the 14th of December to ensure that they reach our children and their families this year. Please also be aware that we cannot accept any toys of games that may encourage violent or aggressive behaviour e.g. water pistols, toy guns. If you have any more questions about gift donation please email christmas@kidsco.org.uk
We also have a Big Give challenge taking place. This year the Big Give challenge phase takes place on Thursday 5th, Friday 6th and Saturday 7th of December. Donations will be supporting the Kids Company’s project, ‘A Christmas to Remember’ and from 10am on these days, during this phase, donations could be doubled by a combination of our charity champion fund and our charity pledges. Here is the current link to our project.
In addition to toy donations you’re also hosting a Christmas party, can you tell us a little more about that event?
On Christmas day we hold a huge party for over 4,000 children, young people and their families at a location in London. The day will be complete with games, storytelling, a Santa’s grotto, a Christmas dinner and presents! On the day we have 350 volunteers and 50 Kids Company staff member’s to help out and make sure the day runs smoothly and is a happy experience for all the children. We also aim to support a further 7,500 in the community with desperately needed food and gift parcels.
How can people help beyond toy donations? Are you looking for volunteers for Christmas Party? If so, how old do volunteers need to be to get involved?
As well as present donations people can volunteer in a few different ways:
- Donating to the Kids Christmas appeal here
- Helping make decorations for Christmas day.
- Volunteering on Christmas and/or Boxing Day. All volunteers must be over 18 and for those working on Christmas day; a Kids Company DBS is required. This can be arranged through our Head Office in Southwark. You do not need one if you wish to volunteer on Boxing Day.
If you would like to help out please email christmasvolunteer@kidsco.org.uk and they can help sign you up and give you any more information that you might need.
Can local schools get involved through toy drives etc?
Schools can get involved though toy drives. However they do have to stick to the normal rules of gift donations, as above.
Beyond your push at Christmas, how can people get involved throughout the year?
There are endless ways to get involved with Kids Company! The best way to keep up to date with these opportunities is to sign up to our volunteer newsletter. You can do this by emailing volunteer@kidsco.org.uk. You can follow us on Facebook and twitter @kidscompanyuk to keep up to date with all that is going on at Kids Company on a daily basis.
For inspirational fundraising ideas, please email fundraising-team@kidsco.org.uk
For more information, visit:
