Business urged to help vulnerable children with special Christmas campaign

Businesses throughout Birmingham are being urged to back a special Christmas campaign to help vulnerable children at the most festive time of the year following shock figures revealing that over 100,000 youngsters are living in poverty.

Thrive Together Birmingham is joining forces with Warwickshire County Cricket Club, Birmingham Playcare Network and the Birmingham Mail to back the seasonal initiative to help deprived youngsters enjoy their Christmas at home.

The campaign follows a plea from children’s centres throughout the city to help collect gifts and keep Christmas special for some of the most vulnerable children and young people in Birmingham.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions dating back to 2015 show that around 80,000 children in Birmingham were living in ‘absolute poverty’ households, where paying the rent, heating and buying essentials were a daily struggle.

Since then that figure has increased to over 100,500 and rising. In over two-thirds of those homes parents are working but life remains a struggle to survive financially. In the worst cases, more than 1,000 children have nowhere to call home, instead living in a crowded room in a B&B, hotel or refuge, where they often share beds and have little space to play, study or dine.

Last year Thrive Together Birmingham, Warwickshire CCC, Birmingham Playcare Network and the Birmingham Mail worked together with residents, organisations and businesses from across the city to collect over 16,000 toys and gifts via a donation centre at Edgbaston Stadium for families who could not afford them.

But now this year yet more families have been driven into hard times and the four organisations are urging the people of Birmingham and the business sector to once again dip deep to help.

Bishop of Aston and Acting Bishop of Birmingham Anne Hollinghurst, who is backing the campaign, said: “We know many people are going through a tough time at the moment but there are families in Birmingham who are in real financial crisis.

“The Christmas celebrations that many of us take for granted, many families will simply not experience. If you are having to constantly juggle paying for food and fuel, buying new toys for children will be an impossible thing.

“For that reason, I am asking churches to get behind this important initiative and hope that many businesses, organisations and individuals will also rise to the challenge.

“The campaign has made such a significant difference in previous years, and is more needed than ever in the current cost of living crisis and with the challenges facing Birmingham City Council and subsequent cuts.”

Esther Lau-Mackaay of Edgbaston Foundation added: “With the ever-growing cost of living crisis, more and more families are experiencing poverty and struggling to provide a warm Christmas for their children, let alone new presents.

“By joining forces with Thrive and Birmingham Playcare Network, we are committed to supporting the most vulnerable children and families by providing gifts to those who really need them and help spread a little joy at a time that many people take for granted.

“We hope the community of Birmingham will come together once again and donate new toys, crafts and books to help keep Christmas special for everyone.”

People are asked to work with neighbours and colleagues to safely collect and deliver new unwrapped gifts to Edgbaston Cricket Ground on Friday December 8 and Saturday December 9.