14/12/11…..Twelve days to spread some festive spirit
OXFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATION’s Volunteer centre is inundated every year with queries about volunteering opportunities over Christmas and New Year. The charity would love to help everyone find a place for a couple of days, it says, but the fact is charities really need help all year, even if people can spare just a couple of hours a week. So instead, here are OCVA’s 12 days of Christmas ideas of other ways to spread your festive spirit?
1. Have a clear out before the January sales. Donate clothes and other items to a charity shop, as many are really struggling for items to sell. It?s best to take them directly to the shop (during opening hours ? never just leave outside) rather than leaving it to door to door bag collections.
2. Organise a fundraising event for your favourite cause. Why not get sponsored to dress up as a fairy or Santa? Or maybe get your office to donate to charity rather than ?Secret Santa? gifts. Maybe donate an item to Gatehouse’s homeless appeal.
3. Buy your Christmas cards at charity shops or through their online shops. Take a look at Card Aid where 100% of profits go to charity ? shops at St Michael at the North Gate City Church, Cornmarket Street, Oxford, or Jaffe and Neale Bookshop, Middle Row, Chipping Norton.
4. Buy Christmas presents from charity shops or their online shops. Many do a range of new products and some do Fair Trade items.
5. Go to a local charity fundraising event – see OCVA’s events calendar for ideas including concerts, Christmas tree festivals and handmade gift sales.
6. Get to know your neighbours, particularly if they are elderly, disabled or on their own. Pop around with a mince pie ? you may find you can help them out.
7. Donate unwanted Christmas gifts to a charity shop or put them on an online auction with a percentage donated to charity.
8. Recycle your Christmas tree, cards and wrapping paper. You could even up-cycle your festive wrap into gift tags and homemade cards for next year.
9. Explore the idea of a regular donation to charity. Try text giving, setting up a direct debit, or going through a fundraising website each time you shop online.
10. Get involved in your community in the New Year ? join the residents’ association or a community group.
11. Donate some or all of your Winter Fuel Payment to the Surviving Winter Appeal and help people living in fuel poverty in Oxfordshire.
12. Make a New Year?s Resolution to look at the do-it website to see if there is a regular or one-off volunteering role you can take on. As well as helping people in need, volunteering will develop your skills, get you out meeting people, and will make you feel good!
About OCVA www.ocva.org.uk
OCVA is the main umbrella body for the Oxfordshire voluntary and community sector. We provide advice, information and training, act as advocates and representatives, and build partnerships.
Volunteer Centre Oxfordshire provides services to members of the community in Oxford city, South Oxfordshire & the Vale to enable them to access information on volunteering locally. We also provide support for volunteer involving organisations directly and through the wider work of OCVA. We work in partnership with Volunteer LinkUp West Oxfordshire and Cherwell CVS & Volunteer Bureau to deliver services across the county.
SOURCE: Press release
