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With less than a week till Christmas, the majority of people are rushing around for those last minute gifts, ordering the turkey, icing the cake and so on. But, not everyone will be doing this, Im not talking about those who are super organised and prepared, Im talking about those who wont be having a Christmas. Those who cant afford to buying those special gifts or enjoy a Christmas dinner.
Im not going to lie, this is the first year I have actually thought about those people and Ive shocked myself by this fact. Of course in the past I have donated to school food and toy collections, but Ive only ever given one item and never given a thought about the causes they are for. There are a lot of people who, like me, have turned almost a blind eye to the matter - Im not saying everyone of you is like this.
But this year, I actually took in the message. We where told at sixth form that there where children within the school who wouldnt be having a Christmas dinner this year, and most likely no Christmas at all and there would be a food collection to give these families the gift of a hot meal on Christmas day. This struck me. The fact that I was passing people everyday who where in that kind of situation - where their parents probably dont eat so their children can and even then the child may not be having a warming substantial meal.
(This may seem like Im going off topic slightly) The other day I was at my younger brothers primary school Christmas fair and there was a stall of tins and dried packaged goods. It was coming to the end of the fair and I noticed there was still a lot left on the stall, I was thinking of going over and asking if they would possibly donate it to the food collection, I didnt. But I really wish I had done as they decided to auction the whole load off and I wish in a way pretty mad at myself for not simply asking.
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However, this sparked me to do something myself and I did briefly mention the idea in my list of things to do in the run up to Christmas (here). Sadly, I had missed the chance to donate to the food collection at sixth form, but instead I decided to drop some things off at the local food bank. I was in town the other day and had some money left in my pocket, so I popped into ASDA and picked up as much as I could with the £4 I had. It doesnt sound like a lot but I was surprised at how much I managed to get although I wish I could have gotten more.
I wanted to write this blog post to just share the message that Christmas is a time for giving, Im not demanding you go out and give ££££ worth of food away, you could help in other ways.
Yes you could spend a few quid and drop it off at your local food bank, they will be closing within the next few days for Christmas so if you miss it possibly do it in the new year. This is the stuff that food banks take as it has a long shelf life.
To give you a rough idea off what I managed to get for just under £4 - jam, 5 tins of soup, 2 tins of veg, porridge oats, spaghetti and a pack of biscuits.
You could donate toys for less fortunate children, visit an old peoples home and spend time playing games with some of the elderly who may not have a family to go and spend Christmas with, or simply purchasing items from a charity shop. Every little bit helps and the more people that do give a small contribution in some way will create a lot of help for the charities, causes and people.
I dont plan on just keeping this message for around Christmas time as it is important all year round.
Luke Cameron is a guy a heard about on Good Morning Britain and I think what he has done this past year is brilliant. Each day in 2014 he has done a good deed! Ill leave the link to his blog so you can read about it if youd like - The Good Deed Diary.
