Christmas Jumper Day
Partner Plus Media kickstarted our festive celebrations with Christmas Jumper Day on Friday 8th December. While fun was had by all, with festive bakes on sale and Christmas jumpers on show, our aim on this day was to raise as much money as we possibly could for a very important local charity: Homeless Action.
Homeless Action offers accommodation, support and education to homeless people across Blackpool and Sunderland, UK, empowering them to develop the necessary skills to promote independent living. The tireless work by the volunteers at Homeless Action helps people dealing with homelessness in a variety of ways, from providing travel cards or smart clothes for interviews, to starter packs of toiletries and other essential items, all the way through to accommodation, counselling and literacy/numeracy training.
Founded in 1997, the charity started with just three hostels and eight self-contained move-on units. In the 26 years following, they have expanded substantially, with 35 additional move-on units in Blackpool alone, while their Sunderland location operates a 26-bed hostel with 40 additional move-on units. Each resident across their hostels is served four meals a day, resulting in over 128,000 meals being prepared annually for their residents. The fact that Homeless Action are needing to expand at such a rate over a short period of time demonstrates the extent of homelessness as an ongoing issue within the UK.
With winter now in full swing and temperatures already plummeting, it is more important than ever that homeless people in our local communities get the support they need. That’s why we asked our staff to make a donation to wear a festive jumper in recognition of Christmas Jumper Day, an event held every year in the UK and Ireland.
In addition to this, we decided to hold a bake sale in our office to generate even more money. We were inundated with generous offerings from our staff, with every sort of festive treat brought to the table, from homemade bakes to our favourite shop-bought goodies, amassing additional donations for every bake sold.
We are really pleased to have raised £378 for our combined efforts, with our CEO Darren making a personal contribution to take us to a grand total of £600! This donation made by Partner Plus Media could either provide literacy and numeracy training for more than 8 residents, fund a counselling session for 12 residents, or even fund over 21 weeks’ worth of accommodation at one of their hostels. However the money may be utilised, it will provide some much-needed support to so many people in our local community at a time when they really need it.
All donations made are incredibly appreciated. If you would like to make a donation, you can visit the website www.homelessaction.org, email enquiries@homelessaction.org or call 01253 297200.
