Margaret Sentamu rallies churchgoers to show they care this Christmas.
Margaret Sentamu is urging churches throughout the country to show they care this festive season and send a personal Christmas greeting to marginalised members of their community.
The campaign is spearheaded by the UK’s leading fair trade organisation Traidcraft, which has launched Charity Christmas Card Week (16th to 23rd November).
Margaret Sentamu says: “The hustle and bustle of the lead-up to Christmas can be both a blessing and a burden for many of us. But for lots of people, even those of us who are part of a loving church community, there’s no one to share the joy of this time of year and they simply can’t help feeling lonely.
So when it comes to a Christmas greeting, there really is no substitute for a knock at the door, a friendly chat, and the reminder of the card on the mantelpiece that tells us we are remembered, we are loved. The extra Christmas card I shall give this year will be a proper card, a charity card, delivered through the letterbox, to show that no one should feel forgotten at Christmas.”
Isolation and loneliness are huge issues for the UK’s ageing population. Nearly half a million people aged over 65 were alone over Christmas 2013, with 2.8 million of these saying they did not look forward to Christmas.*
Larry Bush, Marketing Director at Traidcraft, says: “During Charity Christmas Card Week we’re encouraging people to buy an extra charity Christmas card or two and use them to reach out in their community. So, why not write cards and deliver some of them yourself? Because it’s not just the card, but the one-to-one connection – pastorally, there’s nothing better than hand-delivering a card, it’s such a gift to the giver as well as to the receiver. And when you buy a charity Christmas card, you can trust
Traidcraft and our partner charities to turn your good wishes in this country into good work in another.”
Charity Christmas cards are available to buy from Carrs Lane Fair Trade Shop at The Church at Carrs Lane open Tuesday through to Saturday 10.30 – 2.30
*Statistics courtesy of Age UK: http://www.ageuk.org.uk/get-involved/spread-the-warmth/the-blog/blog/2013/11/450000-older-people-will-be-alone-this-christmas/
Charity cards
It is estimated that £50m is raised for good causes through the sales of charity Christmas cards each year. In the last five years Traidcraft has been able to give over £500,000 to SCIAF, CAFOD & Christian Aid through the sale of Christmas cards, products and top-up donations and Traidcraft was able to re-invest remaining profits to further its work in fighting poverty through trade.
More than just cards
Charity cards can also be ordered now at www.traidcraftshop.co.uk/christmascards.
About Traidcraft
Established in 1979, Traidcraft fights poverty through trade, helping people in developing countries to transform their lives. It runs development programmes in some of the poorest countries in the world, and campaigns in the UK and internationally to bring about trade justice.