In December 2020, Be Kind Movement aimed to spread Christmas cheer by providing presents to the most disadvantaged children living in deprived areas within Wandsworth, where the charity is based. Thank you to everyone who made our Christmas Campaign possible! Watch our video below to see the huge impact our campaign made on the children’s Christmas during this difficult time.
Spreading Kindness During Christmas
Christmas is an extremely challenging time for those who suffer from existing mental health disorders, and this is significantly prevalent among young people and children in the UK:
In England, 1 in 8 children from ages 5-19 had a diagnosable mental health disorder in 2018. This is roughly 1 in 3 children in every classroom
Anxiety and depression were found to be the most common, affecting 1 in 12, and more prevalent amongst girls
Half of these problems manifest themselves by the age of 14, and in 2017, suicide was the most common cause of death for both boys and girls ages between 5 and 19
Whilst these statistics show the scale of the mental health crisis faced by a significant number of young people, the festive period can also be particularly triggering for those who do not typically suffer from mental health disorders. The reality for many of us at Christmas is that the shorter days, pressure to always be upbeat and happy through difficult family situations can make the festive period a particularly challenging time. It has been found that a quarter of the population feel that Christmas negatively impacts their mental health, three in ten people experience anxiety and a quarter experience depression.
For families with children especially those living in low income areas the financial impact of the Coronavirus is likely to cause further strain both mentally and physically this Christmas.
Join us to Ensure No Child Goes Without a Gift this Xmas!
Be Kind Movement aimed to spread Christmas cheer by providing presents to the most disadvantaged children living in deprived areas within Wandsworth, where the charity is based.
We believe that if we fail to invest in improving children’s emotional well-being especially during this pandemic, we risk facing a serious crisis when issues such as anxiety, depression, self-harm escalate in the future inflicting significant damage to a child’s emotional well-being and mental health in the long term.
Our partnership with local community groups allows us to identify and reach the most vulnerable children and ensure they do not go without a gift this Christmas.
The Impact of Your Donation
Your generous donations helped vulnerable children in the following way:
£10 bought one gift for one primary school child aged 6-11 years;
£15 bought one amazon voucher for one secondary school child aged 12-16 years.
Your donations made such a difference to the family emotional equilibrium and brought joy to a vulnerable child in Wandsworth, who otherwise would not have received a gift at Christmas.