Autumn, Winter and Christmas is an important time for us at SSJ – as we start thinking about the colder nights, rain, snow and other elements that may affect people during the darker nights.

It’s also at this time that we start planning for the launch of our Christmas Campaign (October 15th) which follows directly on from World Homeless Day on October 10th.

We have many stories we want to tell during these winter months – and once again we will be committing to raise money for our Christmas Meal Campaign, as we have done every year.

How you can help?

We are looking for community groups, businesses and anybody who wants to support us this Christmas to get in touch and let us know they want to support our Christmas Meal Campaign. The appeal will be going live on October 15th – and we want to give you the heads of as to what to expect, how much we need to raise and what will be happening during the winter months.

If you’re looking for a challenge this winter, please think about committing your support to our Christmas Campaign and help provide a more positive future for people affected by homelessness.

If you want to support us, email Dennis.Jones@SSJ.org.uk – we’d be happy to give you a call for a chat. We’re planning a Zoom meeting before the launch to talk about our Christmas plans, if that interests you email Comms@SSJ.org.uk (Headline: Christmas Talk) and we will add you to the list and let you know the details.

Ideas: Winter runs, fundraising evening, concerts, quizzes, staff events & more.

So when we were thinking about the best way to help vulnerable people in our care, we decided that it would be an interesting idea to get our supporters actively taking part in their own challenges.

Whether it’s running a marathon with a Christmas tree on their backs, or undertaking a bike ride in North Devon to help build confidence, our supporters have constantly shown they are not afraid to taken on a challenge to help our service users.

Overcoming a challenge can help your own wellness and mental health, SSJ communications officer, Dennis Jones, said:

“I recently took time away from my smartphone – and the difference to my mental health was noticeable.

“Within two days of switching my tech off, I found myself drifting off to sleep much easier, and my brain didn’t feel as scrambled. So although it was a big challenge for me – it was worth it in the end.

“I wanted to transfer that feeling of wellness to our new campaign – and decided we should create the environment where people can overcome their own challenges to help transform their lives, and to have a positive impact on those less fortunate too.”

So what does that mean?

We are simply asking you to take on a challenge, to raise money – if you can – and to share your stories of overcoming your own challenges – in support of those who are confronted with the challenge of sleeping on the streets, or even the worry that they will never find a place to call home.

Some ideas

• Why not run a marathon on behalf of SSJ and help improve your health and wellness?
• Why not ride a bike to work each day – and donate the money you have saved to our 2020Challenge campaign?
• Why not have a tech detox and get friends and family to sponsor you to stay off your smartphone?
• Or why not get your work colleagues involved to raise money for SSJ as a team with your own work challenge?

For more inspiration, download this ‘Guide to Fundraising‘ from JustGiving.

Start your challenge

So whatever you choose to do, this is your chance to take on a challenge and at the same time raise money for SSJ – knowing that any money you raise will go towards helping provide safe accommodation to those who are most vulnerable in 2020.

Register now and start your own challenge.

We look forward to hearing about your adventures in 2020.

Running a race in the middle of winter can be hard work, so imagine taking part in an event where you decide to carry a Christmas tree on your back to raise money for SSJ.

James and Phil took part in a ‘Festivitrees’ run on December 22nd, raising more than £1280 towards the SSJ Christmas Campaign.

We asked them some questions about their treemendous fundraising endeavour.

Why did you take part in this run?

Phil:  “I enjoy running in my past time and thought….why not raise some money for charity while doing it”

James: “We both went to school in Portsmouth, so the race really appealed to us. I also didn’t want to leave 2019 without doing a charity event.”

How was the race. 

Phil:  “The race itself, like the charity, was local. It was tough – I have never run with a tree on my back- but full of festive cheer and I was immensely motivated doing it with my best mate for such a good cause.”

James: “The race was harder than I anticipated. Whilst the tree was lighter than expected, the wind along the seafront really threw us around. The FestiviTree was very well received and kept our spirits (and those around us) very happy. We had a lot of high fives and cars beeping at us from the road! We both tired greatly towards the end and were so thankful to have a good motivation (the charity) to push for.”

Why did you choose to support SSJ?

Phil: “My best friend had the idea of running for a homelessness charity. And I suggested we select one that would be supporting those around our local area. I had a look at the SSJ website and found the focus on the re-enablement of the homeless a very positive message and one I would like to support. The charity seems to go beyond just providing those who are homeless with their basic needs, but helping them in their futures.”

James: “Seeing as we wanted to dress up in some kind of Christmas apparel, we figured the charity should also be relevant. We found SSJ to be doing a fantastic Christmas drive focusing on the homeless and thought this would be a really meaningful and worthwhile cause.”

Appeal update

Thank you to James and Phil for raising one quarter of our appeal total with their run. Whilst the campaign has now reached the target we set, it is still open and any funds on top of the £5000 will  be used towards our on-going mission to buy more housing across Hampshire, in order to get people off the streets and into suitable move-on accommodation.

You can also donate to James and Phil on JustGiving, with that money going towards the SSJ Christmas appeal.