🎄 Saphia’s Christmas Food Bank Fundraiser 2026 ❤️

Our target: £852

Christmas should be a magical time for children. A time of excitement, family, laughter, Christmas dinners and making memories. But for far too many families, the reality is very different.

While some children are counting down the days until Father Christmas arrives, others are living in homes where their parents are worrying about how they’ll afford the next food shop, let alone Christmas dinner.

And that’s something that has always really bothered my daughter, Saphia.

Saphia has a huge heart, a strong sense of fairness and a genuine desire to help people who are less fortunate than herself. She finds it incredibly upsetting to think that while she has a warm home, food in the cupboards and presents under the tree, there are other children who might be going without even the most basic things.

She simply doesn’t think it’s fair. And she’s right.

That’s why, for the past five years, Saphia has made it her mission to raise money for our local food banks at Christmas.

It all started in 2021, when she was just five years old. She painted some little snowmen and auctioned them off, raising £40 to help people who were struggling.

The following year, aged six, she challenged herself to complete star jumps and cartwheels. She hoped to raise £150 but, thanks to everyone’s incredible generosity, raised an amazing £447!

And she hasn’t stopped since.

❤️ 2021 (age 5): Painted and auctioned snowmen, raising £40.

❤️ 2022 (age 6): Star jumps and cartwheels, raising £447.

❤️ 2023 (age 7): Completed 170 burpees and 250 jumping jacks, raising £520.

❤️ 2024 (age 8): Took on an incredible 1,000 jumping jacks and 250 burpees, raising £850.

❤️ 2025 (age 9): Challenged herself to complete 1,500 jumping jacks and 400 burpees, raising an astonishing £1,140!

That’s an incredible £2,997 raised for local food banks by one little girl, all before her tenth birthday. ❤️

What started as a five-year-old’s determination to help has become a Christmas tradition, and one that makes me prouder than I can put into words.

But what makes me proudest isn’t how much money she’s raised or how many jumping jacks she’s completed. It’s that, year after year, she still wants to do it. She still thinks about those families who might be struggling, and she still wants to find a way to help.

And this Christmas, she’s doing it all again! 🎄

Saphia has always liked to set herself a fundraising target that’s £1 more than the previous year’s target. Last year, however, she completely surpassed everyone’s expectations, raising an extraordinary £1,140 against her £851 target.

Rather than putting pressure on herself to raise even more, we’ve decided to keep things simple and set this year’s target at £852.

Because we’ve always been very clear with Saphia that fundraising isn’t a competition. It’s not about bigger numbers or beating records. It’s about kindness, compassion and doing what you can to make someone else’s life a little easier.

Whether she raises £50, £500 or £5,000, the important thing is that she’s trying to help.

And I never want her to lose sight of that.

As her mum, one of the things I love most about Saphia is that she doesn’t just feel sad when she hears about people struggling. She wants to do something about it.

She knows she can’t solve poverty or make everyone’s worries disappear. But she understands something that I think we could all do with remembering sometimes.

Just because you can’t help everyone doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to help someone.

For a family struggling to make ends meet, a little extra support can mean so much. It might mean having enough food in the cupboards, being able to put a proper meal on the table or simply having one less thing to worry about.

And at Christmas, when the pressure on families can feel even greater, that kindness matters more than ever.

We know that money is tight for many people, and we’d never want anyone to feel pressured to donate. But if you can spare even £1 or £2, it would mean the world to Saphia, and every single donation will help support families in our community.

If donating isn’t possible, sharing her page would be just as appreciated.

Over the past five years, so many wonderful people have supported Saphia, encouraged her and helped her achieve things she never imagined possible.

And while the £2,997 she’s raised is an achievement we’re incredibly proud of, I hope the thing she remembers most is how many people came together to help others.

Because that’s what Christmas should really be about.

Not how much we spend, how many presents are under the tree or how extravagant our celebrations are.

But love, kindness, generosity and remembering those who might need a little extra help.

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to everyone who has supported Saphia over the years, and to anyone who can help her again this Christmas.

We might not be able to change the whole world, but together, we can make someone’s little corner of it a little brighter. ❤️

With love and thanks,

Kate & Saphia xxx 🎄❤️