Our clients are at the heart of everything we do. That’s why we’re hosting multiple Christmas parties, getting involved with festive fun, and preparing heart-warming gifts for the people we support. Read on to find out more.
Staff members across HILS dusted off their Rudolph jumpers and ‘ho ho ho!’ sweaters for Christmas Jumper Day on 7th December, raising a wonderful £100 for Save the Children charity.
Local youth have helped us to spread joy this Christmas
We haven’t been the only ones getting into the festive spirit this winter. Schoolchildren and young people across the counties have been working hard to bring smiles to our clients’ faces with wonderful gifts, festive treats, and a good sprinkling of glitter.
The youth of St Albans Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints poured their creativity into wrapping up 30 Christmas gifts for our clients, overseen by Georgia, Bishop Daniel Yanez, and Sister Naomi Thomas. The pupils from Mrs Kader’s Year 8 tutor group at St Albans High School for Girls also wrapped gifts for our clients, including chocolates, colouring pens, scarves, and puzzle books. These thoughtful gifts will be distributed to our Community Hub clients throughout December.
Some younger children got involved, too, with 28 schools across Hertfordshire, West Sussex, and Hampshire taking part in our Christmas card project, creating over 5,700 greetings cards. These masterpieces created by primary and junior school children (and the Letchworth Boys’ Brigade) will be distributed to our meals clients to spread a little extra joy this Christmas. Some of our clients don’t have any family or friends to celebrate with, so these cards and gifts are a lovely way of making people feel loved and special.
Community Hub festivities
From making sparkling Christmas decorations and festive wreaths, to winter-themed workshops and activities, our Community Hubs have been filled to the brim with Christmas anticipation. Our Hertswise team also put up a Christmas Tree of Kindness, with lots of wonderful anonymous gifts for clients living with dementia.
And it doesn’t stop there. On Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st December, we will be hosting three jolly Christmas parties at our Community Hubs, bringing people together this winter for some Christmassy entertainment and a merry feast. We hope to see you there!
2024 Calendars
And to close the year on a high, the HILS 2024 calendars have arrived and we are delighted that the images, created by local wildlife photographer Brooke, aged 16, are simply striking. Every HILs calendar is colour-coded according to our Main Menu, meaning our clients can keep track of which delicious meal they will be having each day. Keep an eye on our social media accounts as we share every month’s beautiful photograph.
