Today Reach announced the charity campaigns some of its newsbrands will be supporting this holiday season, across local and national titles.
For decades Reach teams have launched a range of Christmas campaigns to help and support communities and those in need over the festive season.
The Express have teamed up with Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity and will highlight the work of the 150 nurses, and 36,000 children they care for. The title will run a piece every Saturday and one midweek article until mid-January with Joanna Lumley also backing the campaign and contributing op-ed pieces.
The Mirror have been working on a Christmas appeal with charity Missing People who support the families of the thousands of people who go missing in the UK each year. As well as encouraging readers to donate, the team will be spending a day in the call centre to see how staff offer support and counselling. They’ll also publish a number of case studies and talk to families who’ve been affected.
The Manchester Evening News is supporting food bank Humans MCR to ensure no one in Manchester goes hungry over the holidays. The Blackley-based charity does vital work all year round, delivering food parcels to around 400 families every week across Manchester, Salford, Trafford, Stockport, Rochdale and Bury. All their food is delivered in unmarked vans so no one knows the people they help are getting support from a foodbank. And they give people in need a choice over what they eat, accommodating a range of diets including vegan, vegetarian, halal and gluten-free. Last year, the M.E.N.’s campaign raised £13,844, thanks to the generosity of its readers, and friend of the paper Michael Josephson, who pledged to match the amount of donations raised. That meant 840 families tucked into a home-cooked meal and received presents on Christmas Day. And this year the team would love to raise even more.
WalesOnline are working with charity Canolfan Pentre, and are asking for donations of toys and food that will be distributed to families in need across the Rhondda Valley who otherwise wouldn’t get a Christmas present. Last year the team opened an Amazon wishlist, and asked for donations to drop off points and were completely overwhelmed with the response. They were able to deliver more than 800 toys, books and toiletries that brought some much needed smiles on Christmas day.
BirminghamLive have launched Brumwish 2024 and are appealing to readers to back their annual collective call to action to get gifts to children this Christmas who need a ray of sunshine in their lives more than most. Their shocking Child Poverty Emergency report highlighted that more Birmingham children than ever before are growing up in poverty, in care or are homeless in England’s second city. The team are working again withToys4Birmingham to appeal to readers to buy an extra gift this winter for a Brummie kid who most needs it. The young recipients are living in families of all faiths and none, and don’t have to be celebrating Christmas to know this is a time when many of their young peers will receive toys and gifts. Ensuring these kids have at least one gift to open, sent with love from Birmingham, is an incredible gesture.
NottinghamLive will focus on how retail crime affects small businesses in the festive period across Nottingham. They’ll be speaking to small businesses in suburban areas as well as local police as part of their coverage.
David Higgerson, Chief Digital Publisher at Reach said:
“We’re pleased to support a number of important causes across the UK through our Christmas campaigns, from national charities to grassroots community projects. Our newsbrands are a key part of the communities that they serve and we hope by launching influential campaigns and getting our readers involved that we can make a real difference to families in need over the festive season.”
