Are you including a charity in your Christmas present list? Will it be a favourite or will you consider something new?
Whether it's our time, our love, our company, a box of chocolates, a thoughtful gift or some much appreciated money - we all know that Christmas is a time for giving.
A donation to charity is all part of the season and there are certainly a host of worthwhile causes to choose from.
Chantry Place shopping centre in Norwich supports several charities all year round and hopes shoppers will take the time to consider charitable causes this season.
The charities highlighted by Chantry Place this year include:
Alive UK
The emergency response charity, which aims to reduce food poverty and provide emergency support for people in crisis in Norfolk. Alive UK has a collection point on the lower ground floor of Chantry Place, near House of Fraser.
Jo Thorne, chair of trustees, and pastor of Alive Church, said: “The majority of people we support are just everyday people, like those who are struggling with furlough ending, who each have a painful story to tell, and our challenge is that we can only support and help people who we know of and who contact us.
"We recently launched a toys and treats appeal for Christmas, and have worked this year helping to resettle the Afghan community with a unit at Chantry Place for those being resettled to collect, choose and try on clothes. We are always looking for people to support the work we do.”
Break
Break provides lifelong support to children and young people in care, on the edge of care or leaving care in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. It's the charity behind the hugely successful GoGoDiscover campaign, which will return next summer with more T.rex sculptures and steppe mammoth sculptures across Norfolk.
Chantry Place is a presenting partner and sponsor of GoGoDiscover and will once again host some of the T.rex sculptures next summer, which will raise funds with an auction next year.
Break's services work to not only keep a roof over a young person’s head but are about helping each and every young person thrive, no matter their start in life.
The Break Christmas appeal aims to help the children and young people in their care get choice, things to look forward to, a place to call home and the knowledge they are loved and supported by people dedicated to helping them believe they can be whatever they want to be.
break-charity.org
Jenny Lind Children's Hospital
This year, the giant illuminated rainbow on Chantry Square, replaced currently with the Christmas stars, helped to raise awareness and funds for The Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital, part of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals (NNUH) NHS Foundation Trust.
The Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital is a major centre for specialist paediatric services in the East of England, providing acute specialist care and supporting babies, children and young people and their families.
Money raised is spent on lifesaving equipment and new technology, enhancing the patient environment, supporting staff and funding research. In recent years, donations have helped fund the children’s playground, virtual reality TV and games, a sensory room and many more items.
The Jenny Lind was named for Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind who sang in Norwich. Money raised from the concerts was earmarked for a children's hospital and in 1854 Norwich's first children's hospital opened.
www.nnhospitalscharity.org.uk
Equal Lives
This user-led disability rights organisation is responsible for running Shopmobility at Chantry Place. Located in car park -1 at Chantry Place, it provides mobility scooter and wheelchair hire.
It has an incredible Norwich mural which was painted by the wonderful Norwich Dandies – do pop by and have a look. Equal Lives services include advice, advocacy, direct payment and payroll support, membership services and Shopmobility, all designed to empower disabled people across Norfolk and Suffolk.
As a user-led charity, 100pc of its trustees identify as disabled, as do many of the staff and volunteers.
Headway
Headway Norfolk and Waveney is a local charity that supports adults who have had an acquired brain injury or stroke. It has three centres – King's Lynn, Norwich and Gorleston – where clients take part in activities designed to aid rehabilitation or to provide respite to carers.
The charity works in hospitals and the wider community to support those impacted by acquired brain injury and stroke, including families.
Brain injuries can happen to anyone and can lead to a permanent change in someone’s life. People often need intensive support to relearn skills or to understand how to adapt to live with their injury.
There are over 120 Headway groups and branches, covering much of the UK, providing social support and opportunities for brain injury survivors, as well as peer support for carers. The aim is to improve life after brain injury by providing vital support and information services.
https://headway-nw.org.uk/
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