Kirkcaldy Cottage Centre’s 45 days to raise £45,000 to help families at Xmas

The annual campaign aims to provide survival packs across the festive season to ensure families can eat and stay warm, as well as giving them gifts to open on Christmas Day. The Cottage Centre has 45 days to raise around £45,000 to help families in desperate need - and it does not want to leave anyone behind.

Many families are in crisis, and without the survival packs - which ensure they can eat and stay warm across the ten days when many agencies are closed over Christmas - would face the bleakest of festive seasons.

The campaign launched with a song, I Am ready, written by mums from the centre’s Bumps To Babes and performed by Be Charlotte, and the team behind the appeal hopes it inspires locals, from individuals to businesses, to make donations.

All money donated will go to making up the survival packs which also include essentials as well as some toys for children. It is the most important appeal yet launched - when it started in 2010 it supported around 100 families. That number has soared on the back of a cost of living crisis.

Pauline Buchan, centre manager, said: “Many of the children and families who are referred for Christmas support find themselves in crisis for a number of reasons such as they have fled domestic violence, they are homeless, they have experienced the loss of a loved one, they have lost their jobs, they have significant debt, they have little or no income at all as they wait for or have their claims rejected for universal credit or they’re just not making enough to live.

“Nobody chooses to be in these situations, this could happen to any of us at any time so please support us in any way you can. We know the difference we can make by working together.”

The appeal runs until mid December with a huge delivery day scheduled for the 2nnd, just days before Christmas. An army of volunteers has already signed up to get the parcels out to families across the district.

“This will be our biggest challenge yet,” said Pauline. “Our worst nightmare is having to turn someone away - we can’t let that happen. We have referrals come in - we have to help everyone. So many people are in dire straits. They come to us having gone everywhere for help - this is their last gasp. We are appealing to the community to help us help people who have nothing.”

As the appeal launched, one of the first donations came from nine-year old Jay Edmiston who dropped off bags of toys which he bought after raising funds throughout the year selling his toys. The donations from the Strathallan Primary School pupil sit below the Christmas tree at the centre.

Every single one will go to children experiencing the most difficult days of their young lives. The donations which follow over the next 45 days will hopefully ensure that not one of them misses out.

> Donations of money can be made via bank transfer to the Cottage Centre - sort code 80-16-84, account number: 06006462