Give your time this Christmas

Christmas is a time for giving, and what could be better than to give your time to make the festive period a happy one for others. We’ve come up with some ideas – the Volunteer’s 12 Days of Christmas:

Volunteer
Christmas is all about giving and while we don’t always have the money to help other people, we can normally find a bit of spare time to help out. One place to volunteer is Crisis. Crisis at Christmas helps homeless people over what can be a very sad Christmas. http://www.crisis.org.uk/pages/volunteering-at-crisis-christmas-2009.html

Aspiring DJ?
Hospitals can be depressing places at the best of times, but when you’re a child that has been hospitalised over Christmas things can become very miserable. But Radio Lollipop tries to brighten up poorly children’s days, through music, games and competition. You could help out and become the next Chris Moyles!
Volunteer at Radio Lollipop over the Christmas period. www.radiolollipop.org

Give away your old presents
We all have the odd toy or gadget that we know we will just never use again! So instead of hiding it under the bed, why not donate it to your local Church or hospital. Hospitals and Churches are always looking for presents to donate to children around the Christmas period. Not only will you be decluttering, but you could also help make a child’s Christmas that extra bit special.

Pass on your internet skills!
Why not teach your grandparents how to shop for presents online? So that they don’t have to leave home and they’ll get the presents delivered straight to their front door! Bridge the internet divide between yourself and your grandparents or other local elderly people through the BT internet Rangers scheme, where young people help to train older generations to use the web! www.btinternetrangers.co.uk/

Design and sell your own Christmas Cards
Some retailers will only give 1% of the profit from each card to charity, so even if you’re selling each card for 50p you’ll be helping out the charitable cause of your choice a great deal.

Buy someone Christmas dinner
When you’re homeless, Christmas can be the hardest time of all. Cold, hungry and alone, there’s often nothing to enjoy, no one to be with, and little hope of anything better. Reserve one place at Crisis, £23.39 and you will provide three meals for someone over the festive season. http://community.crisis.org.uk/reserved?gclid=CL_H7L3e3qwCFQUhtAodxjWkrA