We all seem to be a little kinder around Christmas.
In the spirit of the holiday, Advent of Change – a not-for-profit organisation – has launched an alternative advent calendar where the treat you receive every day is to help other people.
Behind each door – which is worth £1 or 50p – hides a charitable cause, which you will have contributed to by purchasing the calendar.
For instance, you will improve mental health services for young people and pay towards sick, injured and homeless pets getting treatment and care, as well as assisting an impoverished family in India in getting the tools and training they need to raise their own chickens.
All proceeds from the calendar will go towards charities such as the Royal National Institute of Blind People, Teenage Cancer Trust, The Willow Foundation and The Rainbow Trust, barring costs for printing and packaging.
‘We’ve seen a real increase in unique and unusual advent calendars – it seemed you could get one for almost anything, from food and beauty products to toys, socks and even pork scratchings!,’ Kristina Salceanu, founder of Advent of Change, tells Metro.co.uk.
‘At the time I had just started volunteering for a charity and everyone I mentioned this to was also looking for ways to help and wanting to do more to help others – but didn’t know how, or who to – and in busy modern world there was no “easy” way to do this.
‘The product was born from an interest in merging these two ideas – giving people an easy and “Instagrammable” mechanism to give to charity, in a way that was really on-trend and appealed to the current market.
‘I quickly realised that a charitable advent calendar didn’t seem to exist in this way, and that the idea was unique. The potential felt so huge in my head if I didn’t start Advent of Change, it felt as if I was taking money AWAY from the charities!’
There’s also a children’s version which features ‘softer, simpler wording’ and ‘age-appropriate charities’, such as helping clean up plastic from the UK’s shores or ensuring that a sick child gets the medicine they need.
The organisation wants to be as inclusive as possible, and so has also recently launched a braille advent calendar.
Kristina said: ‘I hope that through Advent of Change we can introduce charitable giving to a new market, and bring important issues to light.
‘We’re here to create a new channel for charitable giving, which embraces the power of retail at Christmas and harnesses that to make a huge positive impact on the world.
‘We’re also very conscious of the amount of waste associated with Christmas, and ensure our products are eco-friendly. The calendars are made from FSC approved card, and wrapped in a potato starch plastic alternative – compostable in 12 weeks!’
Fancy helping others this Christmas? The adult charity calendar will set you back £29.95 and is available in John Lewis & Partner stores nationwide, while the children’s version (£16.95) can be purchased in Waitrose.
You can also buy all of the calendars online through the Advent of Change website.
It’s all for a good cause, which is exactly what the season is about.
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