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Everything your school needs to Make it Crisis this Christmas

Window dressing contest

Christmas movie Christmas quiz

Zoom Poetry contest

Cake decorating

In partnership with

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What’s in your kit?• Balloons

• Paper hats

• Stickers

• Recipes to share

• Backgrounds for online events

• Christmas quiz

• Selfie frame with parent’s/guardian’s permission, and decorations

• Crisis logo stencil, to decorate cakes

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, even if it’s mostly at home, you can turn it into a Crisis fundraiser to help end homelessness. Here are some of our favourite online, socially-distanced ideas for how your school can Make it Crisis this Christmas.

What’s your favourite Christmas tradition?With their parent or guardian’s permission, pupils and their families could post a Christmas tradition they do on the Make it Crisis Facebook page – encouraging others to share theirs too, and to donate to Crisis.

Christmas card design contestAnother fun competition – students pay £1 to enter and design their very own Christmas card. Any materials could be used, encouraging creativity. The sky’s the limit! A prize to the winner, with all funds raised going to Crisis.

Christmas movie Your students could enjoy a Christmas movie in class for a small donation to Crisis. Alternatively, teachers and their class could meet together with their families on Zoom, starting the same fi lm at the same time in each home, so you’re enjoying it together.

Christmas window dressing showdownInvite classes or year-groups to compete with each other for the best window dressing display, with a donation to Crisis to enter. They could post their displays on the Make it Crisis Facebook page, where the winner could be announced by an independent judge.

Christmas jingle contestAsk the musically inclined in the school to make up a Christmas jingle, song or arrangement of their favourite carol. Whether individually or in groups, pupils can even create a video to show o� their musical talents to share with the school.

Cake decorating tutorialYour school can really get into the swing of the festive season by decorating Christmas-themed cakes or cupcakes. Pupils bring in their designs and each class elects a winner – a small donation to Crisis for each vote.

Top tip!Use the selfi e frame you’ll fi nd in this kit, along with other Christmas props, to setup a fun photo booth!

Children can dress up to have their photos

taken for a small donation to Crisis.

A gingerbread house Bake-o� Put your pupil’s baking and artistic skills to the test with a festive bake-o� to create a Christmassy gingerbread house (or even school). Tickets for taking part to raise funds. Why not set up a JustGiving page to get parents involved?

Keepy Uppy competitionHow about a footie challenge for students (and teachers). Have a Keepy Uppy competitionfor the best score or best trick. Dress up in your team’s colours and have a mini league.

Zoom poetry contestAnnounce a contest for kids where they can write and perform a poem about Christmas, homelessness or both. Perhaps around what home means to them, especially at Christmas. All households vote for their favourite.

Crisis Christmas quizEach class could test their knowledge with a festive quiz. One example: Which famous George Michael song did Chris Martin play on his guitar at a Crisis centre last Christmas? A small donation to enter, all funds going to Crisis.

Did you know?Crisis has some of its own

member poets. For inspiration, go online

and search “Crisis everybody in”

or visit www.crisis.org.uk/everybodyinpoem

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 and parents 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 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!Ask friendly local

businesses to donate

prizes for your quiz,

or for a ra e.

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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