Date published: December 13, 2023
Twelve Ways of Giving this Christmas
Our members do incredible work, supporting people to live fuller, more independent lives – and helping create a kinder stronger society.
Shared Lives carers open their hearts and their homes all year round, and we’re here to support them every single day.
In the run up to Christmas, we are inviting you to support us, so we can support our members, so they can carry on supporting people long after the tree has been taken down and the tinsel has been packed away.
There are 12 ways to support us for you to pick from – most which won’t cost you any extra money.
Why not choose your favourite way and share the list with your family and friends?
Together, we can keep the Christmas spirit flowing for longer.
Thank you
1. Vote for us
Benefact Group’s Movement for Good, gifts a £1,000 donation to ten charities every weekday from December 1st to December 18th. £1,000 would fund up to 20 supportive calls on the Shared Lives carer helpline.
To help us win, all you need to do is nominate us – the more nominations we get the greater our chance of winning. So, vote for us and then share the link with your family and friends so they can vote for us too!
Nominations close on December 17th.
2. Join our lottery, raise money and get the chance to win £25,000 too!
Our Unity Lottery account raises money for our charity. For every £1 ticket you buy, we receive 50p. The rest is split between the prize money and Unity’s administrative costs.
As long as you are over 18 years old, you can set up a lottery subscription online which is the easiest way to ensure you’re entered into the draw each week. Or you can phone Unity on 0370 050 9240 to buy a ticket by cheque/credit card.
Looking for last minute gift ideas: You can buy e-vouchers for our lottery and send them to your friends and family instantly!
The Unity Lottery draw takes place every Friday, and each ticket gives players the chance of winning one of four fantastic prizes.
3. Donate for free whenever you shop online
Give as you Live Online is the free and easy way to raise money for Shared Lives Plus when you shop online with 6,000+ stores.
From holidays and travel, to clothing and gifts, you can raise hundreds of pounds from your everyday shopping, all at no extra cost to you.
Simply sign up for an account and start shopping to make a difference for Shared Lives Plus!
4. Give gift cards which give back
Are you giving gift cards to friends and family so they can choose their own Christmas pressies? Give as you Live Instore store cards allow you to raise free funds for us whenever you buy or top-up online.
With literally thousands of cards to choose from you’re bound to find something for everyone – there’s even a gift card you can use in charity shops, making the good go even further.
5. Text us £2 right from your phone
Are you reading this on your phone? Or is your phone within arms reach? Why not donate £2 to Shared Lives Plus right now by texting SHARED to 70490?
There may be no easier way to make a difference in the next 5 minutes.
Texts cost £2 plus your standard rate message (usually around 10-15p), and you’ll opt in to hear more about our work. Or if you’d rather donate without hearing from us again, text SHAREDNOINFO to 70490 instead.
Our text giving fundraising platform is Donr.
6. Buy your Christmas cards from Making a Difference cards
There’s something magical about the sound of Christmas cards landing on the doormat. It’s like a little bit of love coming through the letter box.
Help spread that love further by buying sending personalised Christmas cards (or Hannukah cards, or New Year cards) from Making A Difference cards.
(They’ve got e-cards too, for those friends and family who prefer the inbox to the postbox)
7. Make a one-off donation instead of sending cards
Sending cards not your thing? Why not make a one-off donation to us instead?
You can save the trees and help us grow Shared Lives and Homeshare at the same time.
8. Make a regular donation, and help us plan for the future
You might think that a one-off £60 donation and a £5 monthly donation are worth the same thing over a year – but you’d be wrong.
Small regular donations are worth so much more, because they give us the extra gift of predictability. When we don’t have to spend time wondering how much money is going to come in, we can spend that time providing much needed support to our members.
It’s easy to set up a monthly donation, and you can choose your own amount.
9. Don't forget about gift aid
If you pay income tax in the UK, we could get an extra 25p for every pound you donate through Gift Aid.
So, whether you’re donating by text, or online, please remember to tick that Gift Aid box.
10. Follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter
Times are tough and we appreciate that you may not be able to afford to support us financially. Not only that but there’s so much going on these days that our attention is almost as valuable as the contents of our payslip. Which is why we really appreciate it when people connect with us online.
Find us wherever you like to hang out online and say hi – we’re friendly people, and we like to be sociable on social media.
Or,
11. Make Shared Lives Plus your workplace charity of the year in 2024
Has your workplace chosen its charity of the year yet?
Then may I be so bold as to suggest that you name Shared Lives Plus as your charity of the year for 2024?
Whether you want to make us your nominated charity for staff fundraising activities, or sign up as one of our corporate supporters – we’d love to have you onboard.
12. Volunteer for us
Giving the gift of your time, skill, and expertise may be the most valuable gift you can give us.
We’re putting together a new volunteering programme for 2024. To be amongst the first to find out about it, or to volunteer your time, fill in the form on the link below.
Thank you, and Merry Christmas
Thank you so much for your support of Shared Lives Plus. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic new year.
