Communities Unite for Kindness’ Sake
What happens when churches, businesses and schools come together to share kindness with their communities? Bags of kindness!
Thank you so much to everyone who played their part in Love Christmas 2023! It has been wonderful to see different groups of people who otherwise might never have worked together - churches, schools, businesses, and local and national organisations - unite powerfully for the sake of kindness, helping to build community and spread hope.
This year, Love Christmas brought together more than 6,000 volunteers from over 1,000 churches and other organisations. The churches involved represented 34 different denominations and networks. This resulted in around 107,000 Bags of Kindness being lovingly packed and delivered and reaching more than 257,000 people; most of whom were isolated or facing challenging circumstances.
“A man who’d been given a Bag of Kindness, returned the next day to ask one of our volunteers: ‘Why would you do this for me? You don’t know me.
What’s this all about?’ He now comes to church every week.”
- Destiny Church Glasgow
Feeling Seen
It’s been a huge privilege to hear from our Love Your Neighbour Hubs and churches about the impact that being given a Bag of Kindness has had on some of the individuals who received them - enabling people to feel seen, known, cared for and loved at a significant and often challenging time of year.
“Someone shared how the Bag of Kindness contained exactly the things
that they could ‘no longer afford to buy’ and another said,
‘these are luxury items at the moment because so much more of
our money gets spent on food and heating costs’.”
- St Luke’s, Blackburn
“We’d given Love Christmas packages to some of the social workers from our local authority. They told us afterwards that on Christmas Day, they’d been contacted by a family that had lost a child just before Christmas and had another child in hospital. They were able to respond on a professional level but also give them a Bag of Kindness and said they felt so humbled and grateful that they could give them something extra at such a difficult time.”
- King’s Church Aberdeen
Getting Creative
We’ve been really inspired by some of the ways different churches and groups have met the needs of their communities so creatively!
Harbour Church Portsmouth ran a ‘gift bank’ that encouraged parents to fill a Bag of Kindness by choosing a main present, book, soft toy, and advent calendar for their children. They were so gratefully received by parents struggling financially. One of the Dads told them that he worked 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, and still couldn’t make ends meet.
At Central Vineyard Northampton they created a Love Christmas ‘personal shopping’ experience.
Each guest was welcomed at the door by name and taken to a Christmas Grotto. They were then helped by one of the volunteers to choose books and toys, and they received a gift of a bag of food for the Christmas season.
Restoring Dignity
As the momentum to share kindness grows, we've also been moved to hear about those who previously received a Bag of Kindness wanting to be involved in this year’s campaign.
“At our project for survivors of domestic abuse, previous beneficiaries
of Bags of Kindness now volunteer to pack bags for other guests,
and one of this year’s recipients broke down, telling us she hadn’t
experienced such love and care for years.”
- Kingsgate Church, Peterborough
Communities United
Across communities, the simple act of giving out Bags of Kindness has created a ripple effect of care and generosity.
At St Luke’s Blackburn one of the ladies who signed up to receive a Christmas dinner box asked if she could give it to a friend who needed it more. The church told her she could have two, one for her and one for her friend. She then told them that she knew about many more families in need, five just off the top of her head! So, they gave her five additional boxes. This has sparked an idea for next year’s Love Christmas at St Luke’s, where everyone will get two boxes, one for themselves and one to give to someone they know. What a wonderful way of furthering the spirit of generosity!
Blessed Sacrament Heavitree in Exeter teamed up with a local school. Pupils made hand-made cards to go in each Bag of Kindness. They received so many comments back about the cards that not only were they a blessing to those that received them, but the pupils were also really encouraged too.
Partnering Together
Churches have also been reaching out beyond their congregations and partnering with businesses, local authorities, schools and other groups to create Bags of Kindness unique to the needs of their communities.
Exodus Youth Worx in Enfield was gifted an entire retail unit for December through their partnership with the local council. Members of the community donated toys, gifts, festive food, and more which they used to fill Bags of Kindness. They involved young volunteers from their local secondary school who offered gift-wrapping services and created a space for members of the community to have refreshments and conversation – a real community event!
At Life Church Bradford they found that Love Christmas created an opportunity for them to partner with a local toy company which enabled them to secure thousands of free toys for their Bags of Kindness!
St Swithin’s Lincoln found another really creative way of raising funds. They decided to run ‘The Big Advent Quiz’ for everyone in the community to attend. A lady in the group running the quiz asked her nephew - the Radio 1 DJ and cricket podcast host Greg James – if he could help. Through his friendship with James Anderson OBE, Greg was given a cricket bat signed by the England cricket team, which he then donated to the advent quiz. This helped to raise £500 for their Love Christmas campaign.
Another significant development this year has been the increase in the number of corporate partnerships being built. These partnerships have included setting up Bags of Kindness packing days in offices, encouraging employees to volunteer at Hubs and donating items for bags.
We hope to develop these relationships further in 2024 - the fifth anniversary of Love Christmas! Our hope and prayer is to see thousands more individuals and families experience the love of Jesus, shared with them in practical ways this year.
