6 Care & Share Family Ideas for Christmas

The season of giving is upon us again. Do a little caring and sharing with your family this holiday, and spread some Christmas cheer.

Here are 6 Care and Share ideas that you can do with your family.

Salvation Army Christmas Kettling 2013

Every year without fail, Salvation Army’s signature red kettle pots and volunteer bell-ringers will add an unmistakable Christmas ringing cheer to various shopping malls. As you go about your Christmas shopping, buying gifts for your loved ones, remember those in need as you walk by these Kettling pots and pass on the joy of kindess by giving generously. From now till 24 December, the Kettling pots will be at various shopping malls such as Raffles City, TANGS Orchard, Far East Plaza, Lucky Plaza, Centrepoint, 313@Somerset, Junction 8, IKEA Alexandra, IKEA Tampines, Tampines Mall and IMM.

For more information, visit Salvation Army Christmas Kettling 2013.

Boys Brigade Share-a-Gift & Wish Tree

Beyond just donating money, why not get the family together and buy tangible food gifts such as rice, milo, instant noodles, biscuits and cooking oil for the less privileged in our very own society. Not only does this bring cheer to them, but the gifts from also go a long way to bringing them relief. This significant event has been held annually since 1988 that mobilises more than 3,500 Boys Brigade officers and Boys, and hundreds of other volunteers to collect gifts from thousands of Singaporeans, for distribution to the needy in Singapore.

Alternatively, fulfil a wish at the Wish Tree. Just pick up a wish tag with the beneficiary’s name and wish, get the gift indicated on the tag, then return the gift to the Tree.

For more information and the locations of collection centres and Wish Trees, visit The Boys Brigade Share-A-Gift.

World Vision Tree of Life and Gift Catalogue

Buy a chicken, a pile of blankets, a health pack, stationery or even clean water for vulnerable children and their families. As you warm the hearts of your loved ones, warm the hearts of those living in impoverished countries like Blangadesh, Vietnam or even Africa at World Vision’s Tree of Life at various shopping malls, such as VivoCity, NEX, Liang Court and White Sands. This special life-giving tree holds photo cards of needy children across the world and meaningful, tangible, practical gifts for them, in the form of food, clean water, clothing, education, medical help and tools for livelihood. Besides these Life-Changing Gifts, you can also make a long term commitment to sponsor a child, and help his or her entire community.

For information on the locations of the Tree of Life, visit World Vision Tree of Life.

Alternatively, you can also refer to the Gift Catalogue, an annual catalogue that lists the real needs of these children and their families.

IKEA Soft Toy for Education campaign 

If a soft toy is one of the gifts on your shopping list, why not get it from IKEA and do good at the same time? From now till 4 January, for every soft toy that is bought, the IKEA Foundation will donate £1 (S$1.70) to fund education programmes worldwide supported by UNICEF and Save the Children to help children in disadvantaged communities.

Spread the love even further by donating the soft toy you’ve just purchased into any of the special bins and IKEA will match your gift one for one. These soft toys will be shared with the beneficiaries of Food From The Heart (FFTH) during their monthly birthday parties.

If you would like to dig deeper into your pockets, take part in IKEA’s Soft Toy Christmas Tree charity auction to bid for a one-of-a-kind Christmas Tree. 16 Trees have been decorated with soft toys by kids from FFTH, radio DJs and media personalities and will be auctioned off on 7 December at IKEA Tampines and December 8 at IKEA Alexandra. Proceeds will go to FFTH.

For more information, visit IKEA Singapore.

Watsons Helping Hands Programme 

Buy boxes of tissues and spread some Christmas love at the same time. For every limited edition box tissues, mini hankies or travel pack purchased, Watsons’ Helping Hands Programme will donate ten percent of the proceeds to the Chen Su Lan Methodist Children’s Home. Nine colourful illustrations done by the children from the Home are featured on these limited edition boxes and packs, and are based on the theme ‘I Believe in Magic’, reflecting their hopes for the future. These tissue sets are available at all Watsons stores from now till Feburary 2014, and Watsons hopes to raise $20,000 from this initiative.

Visit Watsons Singapore for more information. 

Philippines Typhoon Haiyan Relief

Spread a little Christmas cheer to the folks in Philippines, who recently suffered the wrath of super Typhoon Haiyan, even as they are barely recovering from an earlier earthquake. Immediate needs include water, sanitation, food, shelter, health and nutrition, child protection and education, as well as psychosocial support.

Help by contributing funds to the affected communities, through the following organisations:

Red Cross
World Vision

Mercy Relief

What are you waiting for? Let's care and share with our families this season of giving!

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