Solidarity Christmas boxes help poor people who do not have the chance to celebrate Christmas in good conditions. People who want to show generosity can make it themselves and easily deposit it with associations. What to put inside the box? Where to drop it? Answers.
Not everyone is lucky enough to spend the end-of-year holidays with the family, in the warmth around a good meal. Many people are isolated, alone at home or on the street, often facing cold and hunger. To provide them with support and comfort, certain humanitarian aid associations such as the Red Cross or the Secours Populaire set up the system of christmas boxes solidarity. Launched in 2020 by the Red Cross, during confinement, this initiative aims to help the poorest by offering them little gifts for the holidays. After all, the spirit of Christmas is also generosity. Here is all the information you need to know about solidarity Christmas boxes.
What to put inside a solidarity Christmas box?
To make a solidarity Christmas box, it’s very simple. You just need to have one shoe box for example, and fill it with at least five gifts including necessities :
- a hot accessory (a pair of gloves, a scarf, a hat, etc.),
- a beauty product (a mini perfume, a cream, a lip balm, etc.),
- delicacies,
- a hobby (a book, a comic strip, a card game, etc.),
- a sweet word or a drawing.
He is iIt is also important to respect the people to whom we offer these Christmas boxes, which implies not to put used products or products that are in poor condition. Afterwards, all you have to do is wrap the box in a pretty gift paper and address it either to a man, to a woman, for both or even to a child.
Who is the solidarity Christmas box intended for?
The Solidarity Christmas boxes are generally distributed by the associations to poor people, in a precarious situation. They are beneficiaries of associations, but they are also people who are in the street and to whom we will give a box during marauding. An individual or a company can choose to distribute solidarity Christmas boxes to any person or organization (Ehpad for example) who needs them. “It is above all a gesture of solidarity and a gesture of the heart”explains Brigitte Berlan, general secretary of Secours Populaire de Seine-et-Marne.
Where can we drop off the solidarity Christmas box?
As an individual, you can directly call one of the structures of the Red Cross or Secours Populaire to find out exactly where to drop off the Solidarity Christmas box. You will then be given a time slot to be able to make your deposit. You can also choose not to go through an association and give by yourself to an isolated neighbor or a homeless person who is near you. Employees can also organize a collection in their company with the agreement of management.
What is the deadline for filing?
Depending on the associations, there are deadlines for submission to be respected. The Secours Populaire centers in Seine-et-Marne accept solidarity Christmas boxes throughout the month of December until mid-January. “Christmas boxes will be given to people who come to the department’s reception centers in December and until about January 15 because at the start of the year we often receive new families and when a mother tells us that she warned her children that Santa Claus could not come this year, we can give them Christmas boxes for the whole family”, says Brigitte Berlan.
Also this year, the city of Paris is launching a collection of Solidarity Christmas boxes until December 19, 2022. More details on the website of the city of Paris. In any case, remember to inquire with the humanitarian aid associations near you, as well as in your town hall. Your municipality may be organizing a collection without you knowing it.
Is this donation tax deductible?
The solidarity Christmas box is not a tax-deductible donation. There is therefore no need to give your receipt or any invoice to the association to which you will deposit the solidarity Christmas box.