Help make a change this Christmas

Christmas is just around the corner and to celebrate the season of giving we’re launching Prospect’s first Christmas campaign on behalf of our two charity partners: Trussell Trust and War Child.

Coronavirus has changed the way we all work. Even for those of us still going into workplaces, our daily routines now look very different. For many it’s been a hard year, but some of our members will have managed to save a little through these new ways of working, and we’re asking that this Christmas you consider donating it to the Trussell Trust or War Child.

By donating just a small amount you can support their vital work. And Prospect is contributing too: in the run up to Christmas for every £500 raised, we will donate a further £100 because together we can make a real change to people’s lives both at home and abroad.

A week’s worth of coffee can save lives

It could be the £2.50 a day you usually spend on your takeaway coffee or your lunch or travel costs – whatever you pick, we’re asking you to donate a week’s savings  to our charities:

• Donate your daily coffee for a week – £2.50 a day x 5 = £12.50
• Donate your daily lunch cost for a week – £5 a day x 5 = £25
• Donate your daily travel cost for a week – £8.50 x 5 = £42.50

For a week’s worth of coffee, War Child could feed 12 children, provide textbooks for three children in school or drive a vulnerable child from the border back to their home. To help further, during the campaign any donation to War Child will be doubled by UK Aid match funding and will be spent on supporting children in Afghanistan who are torn from home so there’s never been a better time to donate if you can. Even better if you contribute through our Virgin Money Giving page you will be helping towards an additional Prospect donation as well.

During the run up to Christmas you can help in other ways, too. If you get a colleague to join Prospect, you can donate your £10 Member Recruit Member voucher to one of our charity partners.

£10 will help the Trussell Trust deliver compassionate and practical support to people in crisis, with six emergency food parcels needed every minute during winter.

Help us get to our goals

We’ll be keeping a running total of how we’re doing on our charities page, so keep checking in and encourage others to help us get to our next £500 goal. Donate whatever you can before 23 December and you’ll be getting us closer to another £100 Prospect donation.

2020 has been hard on all of us and we’re so proud of all the work that you have been doing to support colleagues in this difficult time. Let’s continue to help each other and make a real difference both at home and abroad this Christmas.

Jawad

How War Child helped Jawad

11-year-old Jawad’s father died last year. As the oldest of his siblings, he had no choice but to embark on a long and treacherous journey to Iran to try and find an income for his family. Their situation was so desperate, it was their only chance of survival.

After walking up mountains, with no food or water for two days, Jawad reached Iran. But once he was there, he was unable to find work. Everyone turned him away for being too young.

Jawad ended up sleeping on a construction site. Cold and vulnerable, and without the money he needed to support himself, he was desperate to go home and see his family. Jawad made it as far as the border between Iran and Afghanistan, where he was found by a War Child staff member who reunited him with his loved ones.

Donna

How the Trussell Trust supported Donna

Care support worker Donna saw her life turned upside down when she was hospitalised after suffering from two mini-strokes. Forced to stop working and not eligible for sick pay, the 44-year-old, mother of three from Northern Ireland soon began to struggle.

“I was always pretty good on managing and saving. But from not working, the savings were getting very low,” she admits.

“Things had to be paid for and I didn’t want the kids to suffer. We had some food in the cupboard and freezer but I knew it was starting to get lower and lower. I wasn’t doing what I should have been doing as a mother.”

Donna knew she had to ask for help. “It was either asking somebody for a lend with money and having that debt and struggle, or going to the food bank. So, I decided I would opt for the food bank.”

Although Donna was nervous about going to the food bank, she is thankful they were able to support her through this difficult time. “I sat in the car park for about ten minutes getting the courage to go in, but the welcome that I got through the doors was just phenomenal,” she admits. “I felt so at ease. They listened and offered me tea. It was so nice and family-based.”

As well as providing Donna with food for herself and her children, the food bank was also able to give her information on benefit support she was entitled to claiming, in order to get further help. Donna told us: “I left the food bank with my bags of food and felt very overwhelmed. I was so glad I came here.”