Founded in 1978, The Story of Christmas is an annual Christmas charity event which is strongly supported by the property and construction industries. The charity raises funds to support capital projects in the UK benefitting either the homeless, disadvantaged children and children with disabilities. 

This year Story of Christmas is launching a new programme to involve younger people in charitable fundraising events. Therefore, the NextGen network at British Land is honoured to announce they will be taking part supporting the 9 charitable projects selected this year.

Charitable Projects 2022

CRASH

Kairos Community Trust, with whom CRASH has worked for many years, offers detoxification, rehabilitation and supported ‘move-on’ accommodation to homeless men and women with addiction-related problems. There is a considerable shortage of accommodation for homeless people suffering with addiction, who need the high level of support that is required for successful detoxification to be completed and maintained. The Story of Christmas is helping the Kairos project in Southwark. This involves the extension of a house to create a dedicated entrance, lounge, utility room, shower room and one-to-one meeting space for six.

Place2Be

Not every childhood brings happy memories. Place2Be provides mental health support in schools to help children and young people facing adversity. Place2Be’s embedded school counsellors reach children experiencing problems – including bullying, bereavement and anxiety – and offer support when they need it most. The Story of Christmas is funding the refurbishment of 25 Place2Be therapy rooms and Place2Be counsellor offices in London, with a focus on reflecting London’s wonderfully diverse communities. These will include therapeutic toys, books, art materials and posters which represent ethnicity, disability, different family set-ups, homes and financial circumstances – meaning a child from any background can see themselves reflected during counselling.

Restore The Music

Restore The Music is a low overhead and high impact charity that is changing the face of music provision in state schools.  With a focus on private sector funding delivered via capital grants to schools in areas of high socio-economic deprivation, Restore The Music now has a funding footprint of £1.3million across 25 London boroughs and reaches over 70,000 young people. The benefits of learning music are well-known but of increasing importance are the factors of social cohesion and social mobility, resulting from opening up access to opportunities and possible pathways. Through the universal language of music, young people are able to engage with others, learn new skills and build cultural capital that helps to promote their positioning alongside their peers. With the help of The Story of Christmas, Restore The Music looks forward to extending its grant programme to thousands more young people to help them to overcome the barriers which hinder their future journeys.

SHP

SHP’s vision is of a society where everyone has a place to call home and the chance to live a fulfilling life. It helps Londoners by preventing homelessness, providing support and accommodation, promoting wellbeing, enhancing opportunity and being a voice for change. From supporting people in crisis to helping clients take the final steps towards independence and employment, SHP makes a difference to almost 10,000 lives every year across all 32 London boroughs. The Story of Christmas funding will allow the charity to build upon its successful ‘Come Back Kitchen’ project, an idea which was developed in the middle of the Covid pandemic to address food shortages for the homeless in London. It also provides volunteering, training and employment opportunities to help people progress from homelessness into independence. The ‘Come Back Kitchen’ will be developed into a bespoke public-facing restaurant space, providing a permanent home as well as a catering and hospitality training 

Starlight

Starlight uses the power of play to improve the physical, emotional and mental wellbeing of seriously ill children in NHS hospitals, hospices or receiving care at home, across the UK. On-going treatments in hospital can have a devastating impact on children’s mental health if their needs are not met. Fear, pain, anxiety, and anger are all commonly experienced. With The Story of Christmas support, Starlight will be able to provide a whole raft of toys, games and puzzles to seriously ill children this Christmas, bringing joy, laughter, and distraction from their treatment. It will also be commissioning a Virtual Festive Pantomime which can be streamed to thousands of children in healthcare settings or at home.

St Christopher’s Fellowship

St Christopher’s provides fostering, residential and support services for children and young people. This ensures children and young people can be safe, loved, happy and achieve, and realise their dreams. The Story of Christmas will be supporting three children’s homes which provide a special home to children who may have experienced adversity as a result of sexual abuse, neglect, family disfunction, loss or other trauma. The homes provide spaces for young people to grow up and enjoy their teenage years. The kitchens are places that bring the staff and children in the homes together, where they have fun cooking, baking, and learning new recipes and skills for life. The two kitchens at Warwick Road and Allen House have seen a lot of cooking over the years and the children are desperate for their revamp. Over lockdown, the young people have continuously asked if they could be refurbished. The Story of Christmas’s support has made the young people and the staff team extremely happy. Pelham House is an amazing home where girls, affected by child sexual exploitation, can come and live in safety within their community. The abuse they have experienced impacts on their daily lives. St Christopher’s will transform space into a sensory room which will be focused on sensory integration work and functioning then supporting our wider therapeutic and emotional well-being programme. 

St Mungo’s

St Mungo’s works to end homelessness and rebuild lives across London and the South of England. The Story of Christmas is funding the renovation of the garden at one of St Mungo’s hostels in Lambeth, which will help people recover from homelessness through the creation of a psychologically informed environment that promotes wellness and psychological safety. The garden will be fully landscaped and contain various zones or ‘mini gardens’ within it, each with a unique purpose to promote healing and therapeutic benefits. Spending time in nature is essential to health and wellbeing. Improving the garden space will create a central ‘hub’ where people – who are homeless in Lambeth – can make new contacts and benefit from positive effects to their mental health.

Tim Henman Foundation

The Tim Henman Foundation works with schools and community organisations to transform the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged children. At Meridian High School, Croydon, there is potential, but a lack of adequate facilities. The Story of Christmas’s funding will enable the development of a fully refurbished table tennis room and have a transformational impact on children and the wider community by increasing access and breaking down barriers to participation. The physical and mental health benefits will be seen for years to come.

We Are Beams