Guest from Oxfordshire Christmas Dinner 2016

The Christmas Dinner project, founded by poet Lemn Sissay OBE in 2013, is responsible for inspiring cities across the U.K to ensure no care leaver is left alone on Christmas Day. This Christmas, Oxford will be offering 50 care leavers an unforgettable day of kindness, comfort, care, and joy.

As the shops start to stock up on mince pies, and families plan a cosy time together at home, for many care leavers, Christmas is an upsetting and lonely time that revives difficult memories from the past. Leaving care is a critical point in a young person’s life and Christmas is a time when they need demonstrations of community care more than ever.

You are being invited to play your part in creating a day of celebration and belonging by the Oxford Christmas Dinner steering group which is powered by a collective of charity leaders, educators, artists, fundraisers, civil servants, and care-experienced activists.

Via our Oxfordshire networks, the steering group is fundraising £10,000 to cover gifts, venue hire, food, games and transport costs. And we need your help with the additional funds needed to make the Christmas Dinner a success. Together we can ensure that our guests experience the best in quality and attention to detail and feel valued, uplifted, and embraced by our Oxfordshire community.

We are seeking donations from local businesses and individuals towards the £5000+ required to buy our care leaver’s gifts. Donations towards food and decorations are also being sought by the relevant working groups.

The dinner is supported by leading youth development charity, Oxfordshire Youth, which provides supported accommodation to young people aged 18-25. We are grateful to the charity for ensuring that the care leavers they work with are supported to attend, and for holding all funds raised in their auditable accounts. Any surplus raised will be ring-fenced for Oxfordshire Christmas Dinner 2025, to ensure the continuity of this event for years to come.

The Oxfordshire Christmas Dinner Steering Group is co-chaired by care-experienced Deputy C.E.O. of Oxfordshire Youth Emmy O’Shaughnessy and Michelle Johnson, Headteacher of Chilworth House Upper School. Our steering group launched in September and is meeting every two weeks online with some in person meetings planned throughout November, and December in the lead up to the big day.

Let's make some Christmas magic happen Oxford!

Thank you!

For more information about how to get involved, you can reach the team at oxfordchristmasdinner@gmail.com

More information about Christmas Dinner: www.goldfromthestone.org.uk