Every year, the teams of Foundation for Social Change and Inclusion from Bulgarian and the UK organize this campaign and give out thousands of Christmas boxes to underprivileged children, families and groups. Some of them live in terrible poverty and their budget will not allow anything special for the holidays. Others have no family or friends to share the holiday with.
WHO GETS THE PRESENTS?
The Christmas boxes go to children aged 0-18 in residential units; children deprived of parental care; women and children victims of abuse; women rescued from trafficking; single parents; families in crisis; families of prisoners; old people in specialised homes; lonely elderly and others.
HOW DO THE CHRISTMAS BOXES HELP?
The presents bring joy to people in difficult situations and make them feel special and loved. For some of the people a Christmas box is the only present they will get this year. The presents give us the opportunity to reach people in difficult situations and to build relationships of trust in order to help them long-term.
- In 2009 we gave presents to about 4,000 Bulgarians;
- In 2010 we reached 5,300;
- In 2011 with the support of Econt Express we delivered 5,800 presents;
- In 2012 we gave 6,400 presents;
- In 2013 we gave out a record 7,200 presents;
- In 2014 the number of Christmas boxes delivered to people in need was 8 500;
- In 2015 we gave out more than 10 000 presents;
- In 2016 we improved our record and gave out 10 233 presents in 21 towns and villages in Bulgaria, and 1 491 presents in Serbia;
- In 2017, with a lot of support from Bulgarian donors and volunteers, we gave out 9 224 presents in the country.
WHERE DO THE CHRISTMAS BOXES COME FROM AND WHAT’S IN THEM?
Every present comes in a shoe box wrapped in nice Christmas paper and consists of toiletries, winter accessories; children’s toys; sweets and other small handy stuff. They are donated by people in the UK – schools, churches, businesses, community groups and individuals. The presents are sorted into age/gender groups by volunteers and transported to Bulgaria.
