Our elves have been busy preparing a range of festive activities for you to get involved in, to support those that need us this Christmas.

You could:

- Dust off those Christmas jumpers (antlers & baubles also welcome!), and whether you're working from home or in the office, just join the fun...

- Download our festive virtual backgrounds to jazz up your team meeting

- Have a bake off and try out our festive recipes

- Bring a festive cheer to your team with a quick and easy sweepstake

- Host a Christmas quiz using our template, either with your colleagues during the next team meeting or with your friends and family

- Get active and take part in a Santa Dash near you to feel good inside and out!

By donating to this page, or creating your own fundraising page, your generous support will go towards helping someone in your Civil Service community who is struggling this Christmas.

If it wasn't for your support we wouldn't have been there for Emily...

Emily's husband had been unemployed for three years due to a serious accident at work. With the arrival of a new-born baby, the couple were struggling to pay the bills. Emily went back to work when her daughter was just eight months old, but this was not enough to stop the family falling into serious debt.

Then everything took a turn for the worse when Emily was told that her best friend was suffering from a series of medical conditions and sadly passed away. Just two days later, Emily's husband had a nervous breakdown. So instead of having the time to grieve, Emily had to try to rescue her family from their financial crisis. It was at this point, her supportive colleagues encouraged Emily to get in touch with the Charity.

After discussing her situation we offered detailed financial advice and helped pay towards her outstanding rent arrears. This gave the couple a chance to get back on their feet. We also signposted Emily to charitable resources aimed to help her deal with her relationship difficulties and bereavement issues.