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I’m volunteering for 92 hours this Christmas, and I’d love your help to match it with donations. Since 2008, I’ve done 148 shifts (more than 1,560 hours) helping Crisis to support homeless rough sleepers. Much of it fuelled by caffeine, enthusiasm, and the incredible people I meet along the way.

This year I’m back as Assistant Team Leader, covering 8 nightshifts through New Year, plus a few extra day shifts in January. Last year, you donated £2,647 – let’s see if we can beat it!

>> Click the red [GIVE NOW] button up there to donate << ...or...

>> Click the [Read Story] link below for the long-form essay you love so much. <<

And don’t forget to tick the box to reclaim Gift Aid!

>> if you are somehow not on the right page to donate, visit www.justgiving.com/page/georgelondoncc25 <<

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Hello again you lovely lot!

The time’s approaching for our annual tradition where I give up a little sleep, you give up a little money, and together we try (in our tiny way) to make life a bit less brutal for people who need support the most.

To avoid all the wordiness below, you can skip ahead and just give already!

## Our target this year is £1,125 to match my 92 hours volunteering. ##

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Our 17th Year: Me

Since 2008, ‘I wonder what Crisis Christmas is about’ has become my weird Christmas tradition, fuelled by caffeine, questionable enthusiasm, and a developed love for all who work nights.

Over 148 shifts and 1,560 hours, I’ve learned more than I expected and met some of the most remarkable people along the way, probably more time than I’ve spent doing anything sensible!

This Christmas, I’ll be back as an Assistant Team Leader for a planned 8 nightshifts into New Year, plus a few extra day shifts later in January 1.

You: ❤️

Your support keeps this tradition alive. You lot - family, friends, workmates, bandmates, schoolmates, and a few randoms who wandered in - have powered this. Since 2010 your 605 donations have raised over £34,835, including £4,459 in Gift Aid.

Every pound, every click, and every message of encouragement makes a real difference.

And we need to keep going.

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£35k raised... Let’s go again!

To match my 92 volunteering hours at the current £12.21 National Minimum Wage our fundraising target this time is £1,125.

That’s how we’ve always done it: I do the red eyes, sore heels, and grey hair, and you raid your piggy bank to match it.

Your donation is more than just a single gift. If you are a UK taxpayer, please TICK THE GIFT AID BOX when you donate and the government will top up your donation by 25% by redirecting the income tax you’ve already paid.

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Why Crisis? (Because it works!)

Crisis provides:

• Drop-in services at our Christmas Day Centres for thousands of people. Festive food and fun, alongside expert services and essential support.

• Safe places to stay for hundreds more people in our Christmas Hotels, who would otherwise be sleeping rough and alone. 2-4 weeks with everything from the day centres, plus layered support from dedicated case workers, and a warm, dry, private room of their own.

• Year-round support at Skylight Centres across the country, helping people find homes, jobs, security and confidence.

• Specialist teams helping people navigate benefits, landlords, health issues, and all the invisible hurdles that keep people stuck.

• Researching causes and hurdles, and lobbying governments for immediate support and long term solutions.

Despite everything going on in the country, Crisis continue to do all of this effectively and compassionately.

This isn’t simply a week of food and goodwill, it’s a doorway into the year-round services that help people leave homelessness behind for good. That’s why we keep doing this.

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Some Numbers…

I won’t drown you with invented stats (I’m looking at you 👀 AI-generated write ups!) but here’s a few real ones from Crisis and Salvation Army reports.

Homelessness isn’t abstract. The latest data estimates nearly 300,000 households in England now experiencing the worst forms of homelessness - rough sleeping, sofa-surfing, and unsafe temporary accommodation.

New figures aren’t published til Feb, but the last Rough Sleeping Snapshot (on a single night in autumn 2024) estimated that 4,667 people were sleeping rough in England, a 20% increase year on year.

From Crisis’ annual report:

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What Your Support Provides

When you donate, you help Crisis offer things most of us would only notice when they’re gone:

• Somewhere warm, safe, dry to sleep.

• Proper meals, festive treats, and hot drinks.

• Companionship, conversation, and human connection.

• Nurses, dentists, podiatrists, haircuts, showers, laundry, and wellbeing support.

• Housing, employment, financial and benefits advice.

• Year-round services that continue long after January’s cold has set back in.

And yes - we do all of this in actual hotels now, with individual rooms, proper facilities, and space for meaningful one-on-one help. It's more dignified, and more effective, but also more expensive. Which is why your donations matter more than ever.

Last year you donated £2,647, which still blows me away. Over 16 years, you’ve raised £34,835, plus you added over £4,459 to that total in reclaimed Gift Aid, because you clever sausages tick boxes!

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How much should you sponsor?

Whatever you’re comfortable with! (But the table below has some examples anyway. 😉)

You know the drill - if you’re skint this year, look after yourself. If you can spare something - pennies or pounds - tick that Gift Aid box for the 25% tip.

## £9.77 + Gift Aid (= £12.21 ) matches ONE HOUR of my volunteering ##

## £23.84 + Gift Aid (= £29.80 ) reserves ONE PLACE at Crisis at Christmas ##

## £112.33 + Gift Aid (= £140.42 ) matches me volunteering for ONE NIGHTSHIFT ##

## £238.40 + Gift Aid (= £298.00 ) reserves a TABLE FOR 10 at Crisis at Christmas ##

## £1,125.00 without Gift Aid matches volunteering for ALL MY NIGHTSHIFTS ##

## £1,361.60 without Gift Aid (= £1,089.28 ) matches volunteering for ALL MY NIGHTSHIFTS (at the REAL Living Wage level - London) ##

** DON'T FORGET GIFT AID! **

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Your Amazing Support (the bit where I get soppy)

Last year, you donated a fantastic £2,648. Every year, you keep this going and honestly, you remind me how bloomin’ lovely you people are.

Times are tough - financially, emotionally, socially, all of it. Yet you still donate, share posts, or send good juju. That generosity gives me a huge boost and helps sustain my own commitment to the work. Thank you.

Sending love, warmth, and inappropriate amounts of cheese in your direction this Christmas. Take good care of yourselves, and have a truly fabulous Christmas and New Year.

Much love from here to there.

George xxx

(Give Now button is just up there ↑↑)

DON'T FORGET GIFT AID!

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1. Our fundraising target is based on the core commitment, even if I plan to do more shifts during the January ‘extension’ fortnight.

2. The example amounts are calculated using the UK government's National Minimum Wage level. The final £1089/£1361 figures are based on the REAL London Living Wage (from the living wage foundation).