Operation Christmas Hamper started in September 2020 in the midst of lock down, my garage was my store room and my front room was where the magic happened.

 

The backstory of this is - I am the service manager for a company (Always Precious) that works with families in crisis and mainly on child protection plans; we work hard to try and get the children to remain with the families rather than be taken into care.

 

So, in 2020 this small 'thing' I set up was a huge success so much so that I crazily did it again in 2021 but on a bigger scale.

Our goal is to help vulnerable individuals and families in the community who through different  life situations are struggling.  These struggles are exacerbated  by the current economic  climate, leading to people’s declining finances , which are under more pressure  around the seasonal periods. 

 

The main feature of this is to make luxury Christmas hampers for a family. These are not run of the mill ‘pasta and sauce’ type hampers, they are luxury ones with all the extra goodies that make Christmas special but that are generally expensive - bottles of Ribena, hot chocolate, marshmallows. Squirty cream, jars of Nutella, jams, pickles, Christmas crackers etc

On top of this every member of the families that we work with (about 30 currently) has a bespoke Christmas present bought anonymously by a member of the community, wrapped up and signed with love from a Christmas friend. My dream would be to be able to get a gift for every person that we get a referral for although this is a huge task as last year we helped over 1000 people.

 

As a child I couldn't ever get my head around the fact that a child should go without a gift on Christmas Day and I stand by that but also that a parent shouldn't either.  Often the gifts we give are the only presents they receive.

 

I hope you agree that that is pretty pivotal stuff!

In 2021 Points West covered the article and BBC news - I must admit it was the first time in my life I had been called an angel let alone a Christmas one!

Keynsham 'Christmas angel' overwhelmed by generous donations https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-59637612

 

In 2022 ITV covered the story as well as a video being made by Bristol Rovers and this year me being awarded the ‘Supporter of the year’ at the end of season awards ceremony for the work of Operation Christmas Hamper.

🎄 Operation Christmas Hamper!

This hamper appeal has more need now than when I started it in lockdown due to the cost of living crisis.

I have a Facebook group with just over 930 members in it and me and my little army really make a difference. Anyone can join the group called Operation Christmas Hamper.

 

We also do toiletry hampers and second-hand good quality toys and gifts as some parents have no money to buy the children anything.

 

This year the plan is again to make the hampers up at the Memorial Ground as Bristol Rovers and Gloucestershire cricket club are backing my appeal. Last year we found having a big space at the Mem made the job so much more effective and swift as the previous two years I did it in my front room!

 

On the day people will come from all directions, mainly my team, with cars and van loads of food and that's where these types of creations are made.

Everyone will be in Christmas jumpers and the Christmas music on a loop.

 

The team will deliver the Always Precious hampers but there will be people from the community - schools, churches that will deliver the ones to their referrals. Last year we received 221 referrals and actually made over 330 hampers for local families in crisis, OAP’s, and homeless people.