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Everything your company need to Make it Crisis this Christmas

Window dressing contest

Christmas

movie night Zoom quiz

Virtual Christmas karaoke

Bake-o� competition

In partnership with

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What’s in your kit?• Balloons

• Paper hats

• Stickers

• Recipes to share

• Backgrounds for online events

• Online quiz questions

• Selfie frame, and decorations

• Crisis logo stencil, to decorate cakes

• Sweepstake

Let’s Make it

This year we’ve created an online version of your kit too. It includes handy links to share your event and clever little extras, like selfi e frames, Facebook profi le fi lters and Zoom backgrounds to download.

Crisis this ChristmasThank you so much for signing up to fundraise and Make it Crisis this Christmas!

This kit is full of ideas, materials and tips to make your festive fundraising a triumph, whether it’s in small groups with your support bubbles or with a bigger group online.

Resources are made with 100% recycled materials – except the balloons. But these are made of natural rubber that can be recycled, so you can pop them in the recycling after your event!

It also gives you lots of ways to talk about the work of Crisis and why it’s so important to end homelessness.

Our fundraising teams around the country are here to help you every step – you will fi nd their contact details on the back.

This Christmas may look a little di� erent – but there are still so many ways to Make it Crisis. With every pound you raise, you will be helping more people leave homelessness behind them, starting with a Crisis Christmasto remember.

Best of luck!

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Christmas is only the first stepEveryone should have a place to call home. Yet every day we see the devastating impact homelessness has on people’s lives and our communities. Each year we work alongside thousands of people, helping them rebuild their lives and leave homelessness behind. We also campaign for the social changes that will end homelessness for good.

With decades of experience helping people rebuild their lives, we understand everyone is di� erent, and there are di� erent reasons people are pushed into homelessness. We treat each person with dignity and o� er them the specifi c help they need to take their fi rst steps out of homelessness.

Kate studied Fine Art at university. She experienced mental health di­ culties there, but didn’t receive any help. When her mum died, Kate was devastated. Without support, Kate was forced into sofa surfi ng. But at Crisis, she has had support to fi nd permanent accommodation, taken courses and applied for funding to train as an illustrator, giving her immense hope for the future.

“If you can’t get help, you try and escape what’s going on inside you. I went to a really bad place. I was sofa surfi ng for months, which made me feel really anxious and depressed. There was a lot of worry about what the next day would bring. It was heart-breaking.”

“My coaches at Crisis have been absolute angels. They’ve helped me to fi nd a council fl at and they’re helping me to apply for a grant scheme so I can train to be an illustrator. I’ve gone back to the old Kate that I used to be, the sporty one, the healthy one. I’m looking forward to the new year and I’m so excited for the future.”

Thanks to your support, our teams can really make it feel like Christmas.

Kate’s story

How your festive fundraising will change livesThanks to a landslide of kindness from amazing supporters like you, our emergency coronavirus campaign raised £5m in weeks, helping us launch an incredible response.

This Christmas, we need your help to keep the momentum going. Your fundraising could make all the di� erence: helping hundreds of people into safe accommodation and reaching thousands more to make sure they’re not facing homelessness alone.

With every £28.22 you raise, you could give someone a Crisis Christmas:

Companionship and support from caring volunteers

Food packages, including festive treats delivered to them

Phone and online information, advice and counselling

Christmas activity packs of arts and crafts, games and quizzes

Health and wellbeing programmes

Year-round support, including training and education

Advice on accommodation, fi nding work and accessing benefi ts

The chance to leave homelessness behind for good.

“My coaches at Crisis have been absolute angels.”

Top tip!As always, you can donate raised funds via www.crisis.org.uk/makeitcrisis but to boost your festive fundraising, simply head to www.justgiving.com oruk.virginmoneygiving.com/giving to set up your page. Your Make it Crisis kit shows you how.

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Your fundraising could mean everything to someone who’s homeless

Yusuf’s story

Every £28.22 you raise could give warmth, food and safety, plus a whole new start for someone who’s homeless this Christmas.

Yusuf fi rst became homeless as a child when his mum was forced to close down her business. The family was moved between hostels, B&Bs and other unsuitable accommodation, never settling. Forced to grow up too quickly, Yusuf again faced hard times as a young adult.

Unable to get any support, he was forced into sofa surfi ng with no idea how long it would last. Eventually he had no option but to sleep on the streets where he felt continually hungry, exhausted and full of fear. Since receiving help and rebuilding his life, he has been volunteering as a guest welfare coordinator with Crisis.

“Going through homelessness as a child, was one thing, but I went through it again as an adult. I didn’t have the education or support and I had a lot of baggage from my upbringing. I grew up too

quickly. There wasn’t really anything in terms of services. I hit a bad low and my mental health took a big dent.

“When I was on the streets, the feeling of danger was always there, especially at night. Your head is on the fl oor and you can hear cars driving by, footsteps. I was in fear that I was going to be beaten up or abused. It makes it near impossible to sleep. The cold and the hunger bite at you all day long. Watching people walk by you and not notice you, just drives you deeper and deeper into feeling worthless.”

Our Home For All CampaignThanks to the fantastic support of people like you, we’ve been there for people right from the start of the coronavirus outbreak. And now, with so many people in temporary accommodation, we’ve launched our Home For All campaign to end homelessness for good.

By working with the government and local councils, we joined a collective movement that helped people move o� the streets. Progress was astonishingly fast.

Within weeks, more than 15,000 people had been helped into emergency accommodation, like hotels or empty apartments.

We also helped people fi nd somewhere secure to live permanently. And we worked hard to stop people being pushed into homelessness by the pandemic.

By Making it Crisis this Christmas, you’ll also be supporting our year-round work to:

• Help people leave temporary accommodation to fi nd a permanent home

• Provide advice and practical help to people newly facing homelessness

• Give people the support they need to keep their homes – including their mental health, wellbeing, work and benefi ts

• Call for governments to commit to ensuring everyone has a safe and settled home

• Support local organisations to provide permanent housing through a grants scheme.

Unless we act now and implement long-term solutions, this progress risks being undone. The end of homelessness feels within reach, but only if we work together to make it happen. Every donation you raise, no matter the size, will help make sure there’s a home for all.

Thank you so much!

“When I was on the streets, the feeling of danger was always there...”

“I can’t thank Crisis enough. It’s brilliant to have my own place.”Jana

To fi nd out more about Crisis Campaigning and how to get involved visit www.crisis.org.uk/campaign

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Our top 10 fundraising ideas to help end homelessnessHowever you’re celebrating Christmas, you can turn it into a Crisis fundraiser to help end homelessness. Here are some of our favourite online, socially-distanced ideas for how you can Make it Crisis this Christmas with your colleagues.

Advent WalkathonGet colleagues to sponsor you to walk a set distance each day during Advent. A JustGiving page is the perfect place to raise support.

Christmas memory Secret SantaAnonymously share your favourite Christmas memory with your colleagues by email, and then compete to see if you can guess whose memory is whose, with a prize for the winner and a donation to Crisis to enter.

Lunch time Christmas movieYou and your colleagues could enjoy a socially-distanced Christmas movie at lunch or meet on Zoom one evening, starting the same fi lm at the same time in each home, so you’re enjoying it together, and all make a small donation to Crisis. Why not order a Papa John’s Festive Meal Deal to enjoy during the movie?

Christmas window decoration showdownInvite colleagues and teams to compete for the best window dressing display – or perhaps a desk dressing contest at work or home via Zoom, and post entries to the Make it Crisis Facebook Page. Donate to enter or to vote for a winner.

Christmas jingle contestFor the musically inclined, start the ball rolling by making up a Christmas jingle or short video of you singing your favourite carol – post it online (if you’re brave enough) and invite others to top your contribution with their own, for a small donation of course.

Online cupcake tutorialYou could hold a cupcake decorating tutorial on your favourite social media platform – Zoom or Facebook perhaps. The tutorial could be for the cupcakes and icing or just the decorating, Christmas themed. Ask for a donation from every colleague who joins in.

Top tip!Whatever activity you organise, boost your fundraising by asking people to take part in a festive sweepstake

(fi nd yours in your kit).

A gingerbread house Bake-o� Propose a festive bake-o� with colleagues – baking a gingerbread house at home and messaging the results to everyone taking part. Charge an entry fee that goes to Crisis or you could setup a JustGiving page to make things easy.

Keepy Uppy competitionHow about a footie challenge with colleagues? Have a Keepy Uppy competition for the best score or best trick. Dress up in your team’s colours and have a mini league.

Crisis Christmas KaraokeChallenge colleagues to a Christmas Karaoke – either online or at work, keeping social distancing in mind. Everyone selects a song in advance and votes for the winner. Entries for a donation to Crisis.

Crisis Christmas quizTest your knowledge with a festive quiz on Zoom or Microsoft Teams. One example: Which famous George Michael song did Chris Martin perform at a Crisis centre last Christmas? Ask for a donation per team, and let the battle commence.

Selfie event of the year

Ask everyone in your workplace to post selfies to the Make it Crisis Facebook page and declare a winner for the

best or funniest of them.

Whatever you do to Make it Crisis this Christmas, don’t forget to order your Papa John’s Festive Meal Deal – with a donation from every purchase going to Crisis. Whether you’re preparing, holding or relaxing after your event, it’s a perfect accompaniment!

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Your fundraising checklistHere are a few simple steps to help turn your festive idea into an amazing fundraiser:

Choose something fun – online or off – something you’ll enjoy organising too.

Invite colleagues to join in. WhatsApp groups are perfect for organising an event when you can’t get together as you usually do.

Decorate the background for your Zoom event, using bunting, posters and balloons – or why not download the handy online backgrounds we’ve created?

Don’t forget to send your colleagues the link to join you on Zoom, Facebook Live or any other platform you decide to use. Once it’s set up, send them your JustGiving or Virgin Money Giving link too.

Pay in your hard-raised cash. Use the paying-in form and prepaid envelope in your pack, or go to www.crisis.org.uk/makeitcrisis

Top tip!To boost your

fundraising, ask if your company might match the funds you and colleagues raise

through your Make it Crisis event!

Our teams around the country will help you every step of the way – check the back cover for contact details.

Thank you!Your fundraising could help someone at the most crucial time of the year. You’ll bring warmth, kindness and support into their lives. And through our year-round services you’ll help them leave homelessness behind for good.

Any questions? We are here to help. You can fi nd contact details for your area’s fundraising team on the back cover of this guide. Simply email us!

One fi nal top tip: Make it Crisis this Christmas on Facebook or Instagram – it’s a great way to advertise your event or idea.

7 easy steps to setting up your JustGiving page

1. Log in to your JustGiving account. Don’t have an account? You’ll be prompted to set one up.

2. Click on Start Fundraising at the top and search for the cause you want to support – Crisis.

3. Write a short description of your event and why you’re holding it.

4. If you’re taking part in an organised event, search for and select it. If you can’t see the event listed, select ‘create your own to continue’ on the right.

5. Finalise your selection.

6. Choose your JustGiving web address – this is the link you will be sharing with friends and family for donations. Include a team name if you have one.

7. Click ‘Create your page’. Let us know your web address by emailing it to us at mic@crisis.org.uk, and we’ll set things up to receive the fruits of your fundraising straight away!

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Crisis UK (trading as Crisis). Registered Charity Numbers: E&W1082947, SC040094. Company Number: 4024938.Crisis UK is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales.

MakeitCrisis #MakeitCrisis

Hover your smartphone camera over this QR code to go to the Make it Crisis this Christmas website.

Contents of barcode = Barcodefield = https://www.crisis.org.uk/get-involved/make-it-crisis-this-christmas?utm_source=pack&utm_medium=qr&utm_campaign=mictc

For tips, ideas and more materials, visit www.crisis.org.uk/makeitcrisisor contact our fundraising team in your area.

UK-Wide mic@crisis.org.uk

Wales walesmic@crisis.org.uk

Scotland scotlandmic@crisis.org.uk

North East northeastmic@crisis.org.uk

South West southwestmic@crisis.org.uk

West Midlands westmidlandsmic@crisis.org.uk

Oxfordshire oxfordmic@crisis.org.uk

In partnership with

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