Story
Florence Falkiner is the Communications Manager at Soho Estates. She has been chosen as the Youth Ambassador for the Story of Christmas Appeal, which Soho Estates have been an avid supporter of for several years. She and colleagues and associates are cycling from London to Brighton, Thursday, 01 September to raise money for the Story of Christmas.
The Story of Christmas raises money to finance capital projects in the UK benefitting either the homeless or disadvantaged children. The list of charitable projects that the SOC Appeal supports are below:
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. 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
Place2Be provides mental health support in schools to help children and young people facing adversity. 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.
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 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. 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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
We Are Beams
We Are Beams is a local charity that supports disabled children and their families in Kent and Medway. They will usually have one or multiple learning difficulties, complex health needs such as Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy or another life limiting disease, physical or sensory impairment, challenging behaviour as a result of their disability, Autism or severe ADHD. The Story of Christmas is raising funds for a new garden for the children so that they can play outside, as many do not have access to outside space.