Grantham Poverty Concern expecting busiest Christmas yet as cost of living crisis continues

An organisation is expecting its busiest Christmas yet, as volunteers prepare to support people who are struggling.

Volunteers at Grantham Poverty Concern are busy preparing for the Christmas period, as the cost of living crisis continues to impact people in the area.

Attendees of the charity’s daily sessions have increased by up to 50 per cent in recent months.

Co-ordinator Chris Thomas has explained how he and his team are preparing, and outlined how people can help GPC’s efforts this Christmas.

“As we approach another Christmas we at Grantham Poverty Concern are in full flow with our preparation for supporting those in our community who are struggling and find that this time of the year is not as joyful and full of celebration as it is for others.

“As we have all seen and felt, the last 12 months have been a real challenge for us all due to the cost of living crisis,

“It is for this reason that we are expecting and planning for 2023 to be our busiest Christmas ever, and as a charity that is focused on your community, we are committed to helping as many people and families as we can during the festive season.”

GPC will again host a Christmas Day meal at Grantham Baptist Church, where clients will be welcomed in and given a full home cooked Christmas dinner, plus presents and crackers.

Chris hopes to make “just like your own Christmas family meal at home. Because in many cases we are the only family that a lot of our clients have, and I can safely say that they are certainly family to us”.

“We are also committed to providing Christmas hampers to a number of families in and around Grantham,” continued Chris. “Each hamper will have the items needed for cooking their own Christmas dinner on the day.

“It will also have treats, crackers and gifts, and hopefully this will ease some of the financial burden that many households will be feeling over the coming weeks.”

Chris is expecting over 60 people to join the GPC on Christmas Day and the organisation is currently supporting 15 families (made up of 88 individuals).

“So, as you can see the need is huge here in our Grantham,” added Chris.

“I know that many people will be thinking ‘how can I help’ or ‘how can I donate/volunteer/get involved?’

“We are currently at the logistical planning stage for volunteers in the run up to Christmas, and if anybody would like to get involved and has a few hours to spare from December 22 to 25, then we would love to hear from you.

“Our aim is to give the children in each family that we support a fantastic Christmas, and to do this we will be wrapping and giving presents to each child.

“Is this something that you would like to be involved with? Would you like to donate treat items for the family hampers? Would you be able to donate items as gifts for the individuals that we will be sharing Christmas Day with?

“If the answer to any of these is yes, then please get in touch by visiting our website www.granthampovertyconcern.org.uk or contacting me directly on 07517 943792 or chris.thomas0609@gmail.com

“We have been incredibly blessed and blown away by the support of our community over the last few years through Covid but that need on our own doorsteps is increasing and not disappearing, please take time to think and see if you can help in some small way this Christmas.”