Christmas is particularly challenging for many of the people we support. Lots of our residents are missing family and can find it a painful and lonely time of year.
The Winchester Beacon may only be a temporary home but we try to make Christmas as special as possible for our residents and with the help our community of supporters we will provide delicious home-cooked food as well as gifts for everyone that we support.
We need your help to make Christmas as good as it can be for our residents and to give them hope for their future as we support them to escape homelessness for good.
Support our 12 Days of Christmas Giving Campaign and you will help us to deliver the item at the top of all our residents’ Christmas Lists – a home. The campaign includes 12 ways that you can make a real difference this Christmas and beyond, you can choose whether to pick one or two ideas on the list or support them all. You might like to join with friends, family or colleagues to give together.
Change lives this Christmas.
Day 1
Donate a Christmas Dinner
No cooking required! Donate £10 to provide someone with a delicious home-cooked Christmas dinner cooked and served by one of our fabulous volunteers.
Text CHRISTMASHELP £10 to 70480 now to donate or find out here how to donate online.
Day 2
Sponsor a Counselling Session
Our residents have free access to counselling. It is often the first time they have spoken about the experiences and trauma they have faced. For less than a pair of jeans, you can sponsor one session to help someone begin to heal.
Donate £28 online here. Or if £28 is not doable then please just give what you can.
Day 3
Give a Hot Drink
We serve thousands of hot drinks every year. Tea, coffee and hot chocolate are available 24 hours a day to our residents and we also give out hot drinks through the night to people who are sleeping rough in the city.
Text CHRISTMASHELP £2 to 70480 to donate a hot drink.
Day 4
Secret Santa
Looking for something different to give a friend or family member this Christmas? How about donating some money as their gift and making them a Secret Santa to people experiencing homelessness in Hampshire. You can print out our Secret Santa gift note to give to them on Christmas Day.
Day 5
Eat Pie and Give Pie
We are excited to be collaborating with Piecaramba this December. From the 1st December, when you buy a pie in either Winchester or Southampton you can buy another one for someone facing homelessness this Christmas. The fab team at Piecaramba will upgrade your donated pie to a meal and it will be given to one of our residents.
Day 6
Sign Up to Volunteer
We have a small team of staff and can only provide our service thanks to all our fantastic volunteers who donate their time, skills and energy. Have you always thought about volunteering but not round to it? Make 2022 the year you do it, volunteering at The Winchester Beacon is both flexible and rewarding.
Day 7
Gift a Treat
Have you got room on your shopping list for one more? We’d love to make sure that everyone we support has a gift to unwrap this Christmas. From vouchers to cosy essentials, there are lots of gift ideas here.
We also have an Amazon Wishlist full of gift ideas which you can order with a quick click and will be delivered straight to our door. Browse Wishlist.
Day 8
Become a Regular Donor
Homelessness isn’t just for Christmas, here at The Winchester Beacon we support people every day and night of the year. For just 30p a day you could help towards the cost of a bed for the night for one person every month of 2022.
Whether you can spare £2 or £100 a month, consider setting up a regular donation and help people build better futures every day of the year.
You can donate regularly via text or online, find out more here.
Day 9
Cover a Resident’s £3 Contribution
Our residents are asked to pay £3 per night to contribute towards the cost of their stay. We work with residents to help them to budget so that they can make this payment, this helps them to prepare for when they will be paying rent for their own accommodation.
To treat one of our residents and pay their £3 contribution please text CHRISTMASHELP £3 to 70480 or to donate online here.
Day 10
Pledge to Fundraise in 2022
Whether you want to climb a mountain, give up screens, hold a cake sale or shave your head – we would love you to pledge to fundraise for The Winchester Beacon in 2022.
Get in touch with us to discuss your fundraising idea, we’d love to shout about your support on our social media and offer you help on your fundraising mission. Email marketing@winchesterbeacon.org.uk.
Day 11
Fund a 24-hour Stay
It costs £62 a day to accommodate a person at The Winchester Beacon. This includes a single bedroom to sleep in, toiletries, clothes, home-cooked meals, one-to-one support, activities, Wifi, hot drinks, snacks and a safe place to be day and night.
Can you spare £62 and help to cover a resident’s stay, if £62 is too much then anything you can give will help. Head over to our donation page to discover how to make an online donation.
Day 12
Spread the Word
Our funds are spent on those who need it most, our residents and those experiencing homelessness. We are a small charity without big marketing budgets. Today, we would love you to help by just telling one person about what we are doing to help people experiencing homelessness. You can explain that we are based in Winchester, we have been helping people for over 30 years and our residents are given the chance to start again and escape homelessness for good. Perhaps even send them the link to our Annual Review which is full of facts and stories, you can view it here.
