Last year, one family’s story captured exactly why Santa Stork matters so much. Just before Christmas, they faced having to leave their rented home and move into emergency accommodation. It was a sudden and stressful upheaval – new surroundings, unfamiliar routines and the uncertainty of what would come next. Every penny they had went towards the move, leaving nothing spare for Christmas. The parents faced the difficult realisation that, for the first time, they wouldn’t be able to give their children any presents. The excitement that usually surrounded the festive season had been replaced with worry and disappointment.

Thankfully, a support worker at the children’s school knew about Santa Stork and quickly made a referral. Within days, she was able to collect a brand new gift  for each of the children, carefully chosen by the project volunteers and accompanied by a range of stocking fillers. When the support worker delivered the gifts to the family, the parents  were visibly moved that complete strangers could be so thoughtful and generous. Tears came as they spoke about how much the support meant to them and how it lifted a huge weight off their shoulders. This is the true spirit of Santa Stork, and the difference every gift makes. It’s more than just a gift – it’s a message of kindness, hope, and solidarity. None of it would be possible without the incredible support of local people, businesses and schools who donate new gifts or fundraise to help us reach every family referred. Together, we can help make sure Christmas can be a magical time for every family, no matter what challenges they’re facing.

We would love for you to get involved either by donating a gift, making a financial donation or organising a collection at your work, school, club or community group. Visit our Santa Stork webpage for more information.

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After losing his wife, this devoted father found himself navigating the challenges of single parenthood while working tirelessly to provide for his family. Every day was a balancing act between long hours at work and being there emotionally for his children, who were still grieving the loss of their mum. As Christmas approached, the weight of his responsibilities grew heavier. He wanted nothing more than to give his children a magical Christmas, but the cost made it impossible. The fear of letting them down kept him awake at night.

We hear from lots of families and supportive professionals that not being able to take part in everyday life is a reality for those who are in poverty. Children who go back to school in January and feel isolated when they hear their friends talk about the Christmas trips they took, or the gifts they got on Christmas morning, and they can’t join in.  It has an impact on both the children and their parents, who want to be able to provide for them. Unbeknownst to this Dad, his children’s school in Croydon had reached out to Stripey Stork and our Santa Stork campaign. When he was told that Christmas presents had been arranged for his children, he was stunned. And when he arrived to collect the carefully chosen gifts, the reality of the moment hit him. Overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers and the knowledge that his children would wake up to presents under the tree, he broke down in tears. In that moment, his worries lifted, replaced by gratitude and relief.

Stories like this are made possible by the incredible support of our community. Every donation to Santa Stork, whether big or small, plays a part in creating moments of magic for families facing difficult times. It’s a reminder that generosity can truly lift people.

To everyone who has supported Santa Stork, thank you. You are not just providing gifts; you are offering hope, love, and the chance for families to create cherished memories.

You can read all about Santa Stork 2024 in our blog.

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So began a request from one of the family centres we work with, on behalf of 6 year old B and his siblings.

Like any typical 6 year old, B will be eagerly counting down the days until Christmas and writing his letter to Santa – we’re told he’s going to ask for a Playdoh set.   He’s a thoughtful little boy who has been through more than any 6 year old should ever have to deal with:

“B and his siblings have been living on constant high alert due to domestic abuse in their home for several years, never quite knowing when mum might be subjected to the next round of violence.  Fortunately, there have been some positive changes this year, leading to a safer home life for the children, but right now there is a financial impact.”

We hear stories like this all too often.  Parents who are struggling financially for a number of reasons, including those trying to rebuild their lives after domestic violence.   The last 18 months have been particularly difficult for the families we support and far from being the season to be jolly, Christmas feels like a luxury that they can’t afford.

Mum would love to give her brave little B a magical, care-free Christmas but it is just her now, money is tight and there are bills to pay.

We believe that no child should go without a gift on Christmas Day and we are working hard to give these children the Christmas they deserve.  Our Santa Stork gift catalogue includes a Playdoh ice-cream factory which the Family Worker tells us will be just perfect for B!  A creative little boy, he loves to use his imagination and he’ll enjoy making ice-creams and sundaes for the family.

Our team of Elves will package it up, along with gifts for B’s siblings and a little something for mum too.  We include a roll of wrapping paper and Sellotape, so that mum can enjoy wrapping the gifts for her children and feel involved in the process.

The Family worker explains: “For children who do not have much in the way of toys, these gifts will go towards Christmas becoming, as it should be for all children, magical, exciting, fun and absolutely without fear of what might be about to happen next. “

We are working hard to give children like B the Christmas they deserve, with the choice, dignity and care they deserve. To date we’ve received 2,269 children’s gift requests and, thanks to our amazing supporters we have been able to complete 751 of these already. But that’s still a shortfall of 1,518, with more requests coming in every day.

This year Santa Stork has been chosen for a match-funding opportunity backed by the National Emergencies Trust, which means that donations to our Crowdfunder page are doubled!  A donation of £20 can become £45 with match-funding and gift aid.

With £45 we could make Christmas special for a family of two children with the brand new presents they’ve requested, and also include a little gift for an adult carer too.  Donate to our Crowdfunder page here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/santastork2021 and help us to give children like B a gift this Christmas.

Thank you for supporting Santa Stork 2021 – Christmas with Choice, Dignity and Care.

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“This year will be so relaxed, we won’t have anyone spoiling it with getting the hump and shouting, we will be able to watch what we want on the TV, play games, laugh and be loud, just like any other normal family.”

We appreciate that Christmas will be different for everyone this year and they’ll be many mixed emotions, but for the families spending Christmas in the sanctuary of a women’s refuge, it will be a relief in many ways, because this Christmas they are finally free.

It’s impossible not to feel humbled every time we pay a visit to RBWA, our local refuge. They do such lifesaving work for the women and children who are taken under their wing. We are always so pleased to be just one of the cogs in their supported families’ recovery process, and play a part in helping them to rebuild their lives.

Visiting the refuge, especially at Christmas time, always comes with such heightened emotions. There’s no escaping the fact that Christmas can be an anxious time for these families. It’s tainted by memories of Christmases past; where they’ve been denied the opportunity to celebrate Christmas how they would have liked to. What should have been special ‘family time’ has previously been filled with fear and dread.

The amazing team at the refuge work hard to keep these memories in the past where they belong, and help the families to stay positive by giving them a fun, exciting and memorable Christmas. Aided by allowing them the freedom to celebrate in the way THEY have always wanted.

“This year we will be able to put our tree up when we want, I have brought a 6ft white Christmas tree, back there we were only allowed a little 3ft real tree. The children will be able to decorate the tree for the first time ever and they are so excited.”

 “The children will be able to get up early and open their presents straight away, instead of having to wait until HE has slept in and is in ‘the mood’. We will also be able to finally have a turkey for our Christmas dinner.”

 “We are all looking forward to Christmas so much this year, and I will be able to celebrate my December Birthday in peace, something I haven’t done for many years.”

And Christmas just wouldn’t be complete without a visit from Santa ‘herself’ bearing gifts. Santa Stork gifts, which have been pledged by our fantastic community and hand delivered to both RBWA refuges by Jacqui, one of wonderful volunteer elves.

A handpicked, new gift for each child together with stocking fillers, and a ‘pick me up’ toiletry gift set for Mum. She’s had to flee with nothing, her priority being their safety, so there’s no money left to afford such luxuries. A roll of wrapping paper and tape is included with each gift bundle; it’s important that Mum feels involved in the giving and we don’t take that away from her.

As the refuge is a safe space, their location can never be revealed to family and friends for fear of the perpetrator finding them, so these gifts are often put on hold. The fact that they’ll now have gifts to open on Christmas Day squashes the children’s fears that Santa won’t be able to find them this year. It helps them feel as though they are in a home filled with love and people who care about them. Which they are!

“We want to ensure the children and their Mums have a magical Christmas Day, and donations from Santa Stork really help us to bring the joy of Christmas back into their lives.”

Thank you for all the gifts which have been pledged so far via our virtual Santa Shop; helping Santa find deserving children like these.

There’s still time to donate.

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“The family were so appreciative; I had a hard time persuading them to accept the gifts.”

This was the immediate reaction from one family who were presented with their Santa Stork gift bundle this week. Surprise. Relief. Immense gratitude. It felt like all their Christmases had come at once because, up until that moment, they couldn’t understand how this Christmas was even going to happen.

This year has been an incredibly tough year for them. Before Covid-19 Dad was working in a job he loved, he was healthy and all was good. Then, like so many others, he was furloughed and things started to spiral out of control. They had to wait five weeks before any money was coming in and with no safety net to fall back on, they were in crisis mode. They had no choice but to rely on meals and vouchers from the school to keep their three children fed.

It’s been an especially tough and lonely time for Mum. Homeschooling was particularly challenging as their youngest is autistic and all he wanted to do was run off steam outside; not possible with their tiny garden.

Dad lost his job in July and is desperate to find work; not for want of trying. On top of this, he recently found out he has health issues which are going to make finding and holding down a job even more difficult. With no choice but to rely on benefits, there’s not enough income to keep them afloat.

The fun they had last Christmas seemed like a distant memory and that it had happened to someone else. In contrast, this Christmas was starting to feel far too near and all too real. They couldn’t fathom how they were going to be able to afford the luxury of buying Christmas gifts, when they had bills to pay and five mouths to feed. But the worst of it was what and how’d tell their boys. As with all children at this time of year, their excitement was already off the scale.

But still, when their support worker turned up with Christmas in the boot of her car, Mum still needed some gentle persuasion to accept the gifts; particularly the treat we’d included for her and her husband. A proud lady who doesn’t want to have to need help. But, through no fault of their own, they do and she’s ever so grateful that we have. She got in touch with us to pass on her thanks:

“I just want to say thank you so much for our Christmas presents, they were delivered today and I was in absolute shock! I can’t wait to see my boys’ faces on Christmas Day.”

Many of the families we are supporting this Christmas are like this one; they’ve never had to use a baby bank or food bank before. But their needs are necessary and immediate. Christmas won’t wait!

We are working hard to bridge this gap and give these families the Christmas they deserve, with the dignity they deserve. To date we’ve received 2,357 children’s gift requests and, thanks to our amazing community, have been able to complete 1,194 of these already. But that’s still a shortfall of 1,163 (pretty much half), with more requests coming in every day.

If you are able to buy just ONE of these gifts then you’ll be making the difference to ONE child’s Christmas, a gesture which should never be underestimated. A purchase very well spent!

Here’s where you can pledge a Santa Stork gift – https://stripeystork.org.uk/santashop/

Thank you for helping us to give Christmas with dignity.

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This story is about why the Santa Stork team work so hard – to give back the magic of Christmas and make wishes come true for every child on Santa Stork’s list. This was certainly the case when a 4 year old girl, whose family we’d been supporting, had told Mum that all she wanted for Christmas was a giant unicorn. It’s been a really challenging year for them and as such, money has been particularly tight. This special request was passed on to us through their Outreach Worker and was in turn added to the hundreds of presents on our Santa Stork list at any one time in the lead up to Christmas.

In November, during the height of our Christmas campaign, we were kindly supported by the Belfry Shopping Centre in Redhill who invited us to hold a stall at their Christmas lights switch-on event. There we had our Christmas ‘giving tree’, which was full of gift tags, on each tag there was a special present request for a local child in need.

We had many shoppers wanting to get involved, by either; choosing a tag, hitting the shops and returning with the gift; or, taking a tag home and making an online purchase. It was lovely to see many familiar faces who had made Santa Stork part of their family’s Christmas tradition – a tangible way to involve their children in giving back.

One of our volunteers on the day had actually been helped by Stripey Stork in the past. She was keen to support the campaign, knowing first hand how much it had helped her family at a difficult time in their lives, and at what can be a particularly challenging time of year for many. The unicorn gift request caught her friend’s eye – the challenge was on! Shortly afterwards, the mission was successfully accomplished!

On Santa Stork Giving Day – a day in December when all of the Santa Stork gifts are wrapped by a hall full of volunteers and collected/distributed by those supporting these vulnerable families – wrapping the giant unicorn was a bit of a challenge in itself. Of all the presents, this was one you don’t forget in a hurry so it was lovely to see the unicorn make an appearance once again.

But, the unicorn’s story doesn’t end there…

When Mum received the wrapped present, there was no mistaking that her daughter’s request had been answered and she was going to be able to give her the Christmas she deserved. She felt compelled to send us a message of appreciation:

“Thank you so much for our Christmas gifts. My outreach worker passed them all on to us today. I could cry. We think it’s a giant unicorn for my four year old. Which is exactly what she asked me for. Thank you so so much. My year has been a tough one and your charity have just been a life line for my daughter and I. Please all have a merry Christmas. And know you are all the best of humanity. Thankyou xxx.”

We were so touched to hear how this was going to make this little girl’s Christmas. It hits the spot of what Santa Stork is all about and it was lovely to be able to pass this on to the team who work so tirelessly to make these children’s wishes come true.

And the final piece of the story came on Christmas morning when Mum sent us a thank you message with a photo of her daughter, absolutely beaming with her arms wrapped tightly around her much-wished for new best friend:

“Thank you so much to the wonderful angels at Stripey Stalk (sic) and to the amazing person who donated this. We LOVE our presents. Merry Christmas to you all xx.”

And the unicorn’s journey is complete. A Santa Stork story which has come full circle – from the kind donation which happened because of someone who knew what a lifeline Stripey Stork had been to their family, to being a lifeline to another family. The circle of kindness, made possible because of the incredible response to this year’s campaign. Over 3000 gifts distributed to local families in need and we couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved – together!

We wish every Santa Stork family all the best for 2020, and the assurance that we will support them as best we can until they’re back on their feet! If you’d like to make a contribution throughout the year, there are many ways to get involved, from volunteering to making an online donation. Thank you and we look forward to working with you in 2020!

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For many children spending Christmas in a refuge, they are still young enough to believe in the magic of Christmas and that Santa is real. One big worry for them is that now they are living somewhere new, Santa won’t be able to find them. We work closely with the refuge to ensure that he can!

WE know they are there because they need to be. MUM knows it’s the safest place for them all. But all THEY know is they’ve left their family, friends and toys behind. They can’t understand how Christmas is going to work this year.

For children it can be such a frightening and unsettling time, not filled with joy or laughter as it should be, but with fear and tears. For some, bruises and broken toys are memories of Christmas’ gone by.

Some of the children have never even had a visit from Santa. It’s not uncommon to hear words like:

“Father Christmas forgot me last year”.

Or

“Father Christmas never comes, Daddy says it’s because I’m naughty”.

Letters like the following have been written: “Dear Father Christmas, don’t worry about me, but please bring something for my baby sister”.

For women in abusive relationships, Christmas is also a terrifying time. The festive period often sees an increase in risks of domestic violence due to spending more time with an abusive partner, higher alcohol consumption and financial pressures. Some see the run-up to Christmas as their last opportunity to escape, but many refuges are full.

The nearer it gets to Christmas, the more talk of presents and Father Christmas is heard from the refuge children. Mums have big concerns and worries over how they will be able to afford gifts for their children.

Some children are told by Mum that there won’t be any presents this year. Mums can feel terribly guilty about this and the pull back to an abusive relationship is huge.

The great news is that because of Santa Stork, these children can be told: “Yes, Father Christmas does come to the refuge and he knows exactly where you are!”. Fortunately for the 11 women and 24 children spending Christmas at RBWA, Christmas will find them!

Santa Stork allows the refuge workers to support the Mums in providing Christmas presents for their children and say: “Don’t worry, we can help”. And, of course, Santa never forget the Mums, a wrapped toiletry gift set will be waiting for them under the tree on Christmas morning.

Santa Stork enables the support workers to excite the children by telling them: “Santa knows exactly where you are, he comes every year to the children living here”. He’s been coming with his reindeer and orange Stripey Stork helper by his side, and has never let them down yet.

Christmas drawing made by one of the refuge children

But, we need your help to ensure ALL local children faced with not receiving a present this Christmas are not forgotten. We want them to feel the magic on Christmas morning when they see their presents lying under the tree, be excited when they see gifts in their stocking, and feel like the other children from school on Christmas morning.

We have a big job on our hands, but with your help we can ensure every child on our list is remembered this Christmas.

See About Santa Stork for details of our Christmas campaign and how you can help.

Thank you for your support and we wish all the children and Mums living at the RBWA refuge this Christmas, a safe and happy Christmas.

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It was the end of a busy week at the office when the post arrived one Friday before Christmas 2018. We opened a Christmas card and a crisp ten pound note fell out. The handwritten message inside stopped us in our tracks:

“Dear Stripy Stork
Thank you for all the help you have given me and my baby. Last year I was in a bad place and was dreading Christmas. I had no family, no presents and tried to pretend it wasn’t happening. My support worker got me some things from you and I am so greatful (sic). I didn’t realise how important it was to give my son a gift. When he opened the Frozen snowman toy and I saw his face I felt like a proper mum for the first time ever. I started to get things sorted in January and got a new job in the summer. I made a promise that this year I would support what you do at Christmas. So here is £10. I hope it makes another mum feel like I did. Thank you for all you do.”

Wow. What an incredible thing for this mum to do. The Santa Stork gift of last year – an Olaf teddy donated by In Kind Direct – had such an impact that she was paying that kindness forward. We couldn’t be more grateful.

A year on and this family are in a better position but we know there are hundreds of parents and carers in our community feeling exactly like she did – dreading Christmas and wishing it wasn’t going to happen – because they can’t provide a few simple gifts for their children to open on Christmas morning.

That’s what Santa Stork is all about – you can read all about our annual Christmas campaign here in our blog.

“I hope it makes another mum feel like I did.”

See Santa Stork page for details of how to help this year’s campaign.

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Imagine having to tell your children that they won’t be receiving any presents at Christmas. No presents at all.
Children still in Junior school who wouldn’t have stories to share about the presents they received when they went back after the holidays.

That was the reality for a local family being supported by one of our referral sources back in 2017. A family who wished that they didn’t need the support of Stripey Stork and our Santa Stork campaign but who sadly did. When talking to Mum about gift choices for the children she only mentioned two of her children:

“I’ve already told the older ones they won’t be getting anything this year” she explained sadly.

But we were able to help thanks to your support, and requests for the whole family were added to our Santa Stork list.

It’s the reality of stories like this which make us realise how necessary our annual Christmas campaign is in bringing Christmas to as many local children in need as we can – regardless of age or circumstance!

See Santa Stork page for details of how to help this year’s campaign.

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