The greatest gift: help support our charity partners this Christmas

One of the great things about Prospect amd Bectu members is that their values and concerns extend beyond the workplace. We care not just for our colleagues, but for our local communities, and the wider world too.

Last Christmas, when we asked for your donations to support our charity partners War Child and Trussell, you responded as we knew you would.

Through that festive period, members donated more than £8,000. Prospect contributed a further £1,000 to each charity partner, bringing the total to more than £10,000.

This year, we are again asking you to give whatever you can to support the amazing and crucial work done by War Child and Trussell.

In addition, we are also encouraging members to consider getting involved with Inspiring the Future, a charitable organisation that asks workplace professionals to volunteer just one hour per year to help broaden the career horizons of children and young people.

Find out more about our charity partners below and how you can donate to them; and learn more about Inspiring the Future.

War Child

In any conflict, it is the children that suffers the most. War Child protects, educates, and stands up for the rights of children in desperate times.

They are active on the ground in war-torn countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America, but their winter appeal is focussed on ending the nightmare for children in Gaza and Lebanon.

More than a million children have been forced from their homes, are hungry and struggling to survive. War Child’s teams in Gaza and Lebanon are already supporting 118,000 children with food, supplies and shelter.

But tens of thousands more still need urgent help. Please give what you can to support War Child.

>>> Donate here to War Child

Trussell

Nobody wants to spend Christmas at a food bank but that is the harsh reality for thousands of families in the UK this year.

Last year, Trussell’s 1,400 community of food banks, distributed more than 3.1 million emergency food parcels – the most they have ever given in a single year.

Winter is especially hard for many families in need and is the busiest time of year for Trussell and their volunteers across the country.

Please give what you can to help Trussell provide food and support for families facing hunger and poverty.

>> Donate here to Trussell

Inspiring the Future

Research by the charity Education and Employers shows children’s ambitions for the future are often limited to what they see around them – family, neighbours, and increasingly social media.

Many have little idea of the jobs we all do – from scientists, engineers, tech experts and the numerous other general and specialist roles within Prospect’s membership.

But you can change this – just by chatting informally to children and answering questions about your job: what was your first job? What subjects did you like at school? What are the best and worst bits of your job?

Could you spare just one hour a year to help children and young people see the future career opportunities open to them?

Volunteering is quick and easy – just register on Inspiring the Future which connects you with a primary or secondary school. You decide what suits you best – either taking part virtually, or in person, and at a time to suit you.

Whether you are just at the beginning of your career or coming up to retirement, in a junior role or in a leadership role, you can help to open young people’s eyes to roles like yours that they may never have imagined before.

>>> Volunteer here with Inspiring the Future

It is time to ‘Redraw the Balance’

Watch this short video from Inspiring the Future to see how children all over the world have deeply ingrained gender stereotypes about jobs.