For many kids Christmas can be another cold, hungry day – here’s how you can help Barnados’ change this for thousands
THINK of Christmas and you imagine faces of happy children excited about Santa, opening presents, spending time with family and enjoying the best bits of childhood.
Unfortunately that is not the reality for every child.
Last year, Barnardos worked with 20,838 vulnerable children across Ireland.
All year, but especially at Christmas, the charity does everything it can to provide much-needed support and care to those who need it most, through their 54 locations nationwide.
Barnardos supports some of the most vulnerable children in Ireland, affected by traumatic life events such as the impact of poverty, domestic violence, or living with parents who struggle with mental health issues or addiction.
As Barnardos Ireland’s media partners, today The Irish Sun is kicking off our Christmas appeal asking YOU, our readers, to do whatever you can to help ensure every child in Ireland has a magical December 25.
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Here Gaelle Robert, Donor Marketing Executive at Barnardos, tell's us about the charity’s Gifts For Good campaign, how YOU can make a difference and how their on the ground staff work tirelessly to ensure every child has a Merry Christmas.
IMAGINE a Christmas without a Christmas tree, twinkling lights, empty stockings and dashed hopes. Without a letter to Santa. Without a turkey, laughter or magic.
This is the reality for so many children all around Ireland each Christmas.
Children like Bobby, who attends children’s charity Barnardos.
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For Bobby*, Christmas used to be just another cold, hungry, lonely day like all the others.
Bobby’s mam, Anita*, is raising him on her own. Anita cannot afford childcare so she’s unable to work full-time but works part-time when Bobby is in school, and tries her best to make ends meet.
She has to choose which room to heat in the house. Which meal to skip. When to use the car. She waters down the shampoo and washing up liquid. But it is never enough.
Meanwhile Bobby, who at his young age cannot possibly understand all this, wakes up hungry every morning.
But thanks to donations and other ways people support Barnardos, such as “Gifts for Good”, Bobby, like many other children attending Barnardos, can receive the support he so crucially needs.
The first time Bobby came to the Breakfast Club in Barnardos, he couldn’t stop eating. He didn’t talk with the other children, as he was so focused on eating.
SUPPORT IMPACTS
But after a few weeks he started taking his time, he knew there would still be food for him the next day.
His mam also received some blankets and warm, cosy pyjamas for Bobby so that he can finally have a good night’s sleep and have the energy he needs to go to school the next day and he started making some new friends.
It’s heartening for Anita to see some colour on his cheeks again but, most of all, to see him smile and laugh with the other children.
As Christmas approaches, Gifts for Good is a way you can support Barnardos by providing practical help to the children attending the charity.
What children like Bobby really need is for their life to improve at home and in the long term.
They need warmth and a full belly every day, not just at Christmas. They need the tools so they can get the same chances every child deserves, at Christmas and beyond.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Barnardos Gifts for Good is an alternative gift range for your family and friends. For each Gift for Good you buy, you’ll be sent a card to write your own message to give to a loved one.
By purchasing a Gift for Good, both you and your loved one will directly benefit a child or family that Barnardos works with, like Bobby.
From warm pyjamas to the gift of a nutritious meal, they are based on the most used items by families, while also opening a world of opportunity and restoring hope.
Each Gift for Good will help enhance Barnardos essential services in 54 service locations.
The funds are allocated to our general appeal fund, allowing us to respond to a range of individual and complex needs in the most impactful ways possible.
Your gift will support Barnardos’ work with over 20,000 children and families, ensuring the best outcomes possible for each and every child.
Because childhood lasts a lifetime.
*While Bobby’s story is true, We have changed all names and some details to protect the family’s identity. Photos used are models.
Visit barnardos.ie/giftsforgood to buy your gift or call Barnardos on 01 7080 429 to purchase over the phone.