Christmas elves from across the Society's head office were busy wrapping Christmas presents for local families in need last week.
The wrapping day, which took place on Save The Children's Christmas Jumper Day (7 December), saw nearly 30 colleagues from different teams don their best jolly jumpers and come together with mince pies and Christmas music to wrap the donated gifts.
The presents were donated by Society employees as part of a 'Giving Tree' campaign for Home Start West Berkshire. The campaign was run for the first time at head office in 2022, and was so popular, it's returned for 2023!
Home-Start West Berkshire (Registered Charity No. 1111171) support local families through tough times. Their carefully selected volunteers are matched with a family and visit them regularly to provide emotional and practical support, helping parents through tough times and supporting children to thrive.
The Giving Tree campaign enables employees of the Society to spread Christmas cheer to people who need it most. This year, as with last year, Home-Start requested donations of cosy socks, blankets, dressing gowns and pyjamas to help families stay warm this winter whilst energy bills remain high. Gifts were given to children of all ages as well as single parents, who may not otherwise receive a present on the big day.
Christmas is such a wonderful time of year, but the reality for many local families is that they have to make tough decisions between food or heating. The support of Newbury Building Society has been vital in helping families to manage to stay warm this Christmas. Bed socks, blankets, water bottles and dressing gowns will make a difference in the coldest months. Thank you so much for delivering the gift of community spirit again this Christmas.
Mollie Maclean, Digital Marketing Assistant, organised this year's campaign. She commented: "Once again the support from colleagues at the Society has blown me away! It was a very proud moment being able to donate the mountain of gifts we received to Grace at Home-Start West Berkshire, and I know that our donations will be going towards making a special Christmas wish come true. Thank you to Home-Start for allowing us to be able to gift something special this Christmas."
Find out more about our charity partnerships and community support projects here.
Emma leads the marketing and communications team and is responsible for marketing, communications, brand and public relations.
