Our Brighton streets are getting adorned with colourful lights and the ever-present Christmas tunes are blaring out from every shop, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas! As the mercury drops and dark evenings ? and mornings ? draw in, we’ve put together five Christmas initiatives happening in our community that will make you feel all warm inside ? even if you don?t on the outside!
1.Zero Waste Christmas Market
Looking for presents that – literally ? do not cost the earth? Then pop along to Brighton?s Zero Waste Christmas Market. With more people trying to reduce their plastic and use eco-friendly materials, this market is a great opportunity to purchase some ethical pressies. There is not a dot of plastic packaging in sight, over 30 zero-waste brands and no waste generated by the event ? and if you need more convincing ? hot mulled wine is on the menu!
2. Brighton Housing Trust?s Festive Collection
Brighton Housing Trust (BHT) offer a diverse range of services that support people who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, and people who have complex needs in our community. Fancy helping out during the toughest weather months? They are currently looking for volunteers for their annual festive collection! With a bunch of new collection sites ? and some fancy new tech in the form of contactless buckets ? they are looking to spread some festive cheer, awareness of their work and to generate much-needed donations.
3.Santa Dash
Could there be any more of a festive sight than hundreds of Santas sprinting along Brighton seafront? Yup – only in Brighton! This joy-filled Santa Dash 5K is not only the most fun you can have running ? but it also raises much-needed money for Rockinghorse – a Brighton-based charity that supports children in Sussex, and best known as the official fundraising arm of the Royal Alexandra Children?s Hospital.
4.Donate while you buy
As much as we all strive for an eco-friendly, less expensive, waste-free Christmas – most of us do splurge on gifts for loved ones. Let?s face it, come the big day, a selection of eco-soaps and a donation to a charity will have most small children writing a strongly worded letter to Santa.
Amazon is probably the best-known online retailer and Amazon Smile is the exact same thing ? same price, same products, same everything? well, almost. When you use Amazon Smile, 0.5% of your purchase price goes to a charity of your choice. You can use this with your Prime membership and the login details are the same as you use for Amazon.? We recommend supporting local charity Extratime:?Support Extratime through Amazon Smiles – a charity that organises after school clubs and care for children and young people with/without disabilities in Brighton and West Sussex.
5.Big City Sleep Out
Swap your cosy bed and brave Brighton?s freezing seafront for a good cause. On December the 16th, the Clock Tower Sanctuary are challenging people to spend a night outdoors. While this in no way compares to the stress of being homeless, it will be far from comfortable. But more importantly, it raises funds that allow the Clock Tower Sanctuary to continue to help young people avoid becoming long-term homeless.
Did you know that we are a digital agency with a charity commitment? Find out more about how we give back to our community in our charity page!
