Over 70 volunteers came together earlier this month to prepare more than 1,000 gifts, goodies and activities for young people staying in hospital over the festive season.
Some of the ‘volunteer elves’ who took part in the initiative | Photo courtesy of Christmas For CAMHS
The ‘volunteer elves’ assembled at St Mary’s Catholic Church Hall on Julian Road on 30th November and 1st December to put together the packages for young people who are staying in mental health hospitals across the country.
The packing day was organised by Bath-based charity Christmas For CAMHS, who have been preparing gifts for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) units across the country for 9 years.
The initiative was launched after it came to trustee Dr Rosanna Bevan’s attention that young people in mental health units rarely receive any donations, unlike their counterparts in hospital for physical ailments who often receive gifts.
The elves spent their weekend pulling together special boxes containing an individual gift for each young person to keep, as well as some small fidget toys, a gift for their ward (such as a jigsaw or popular card game), a wellbeing advent calendar, decorations to make the wards feel festive and some activities to do together, such as a colour-in tablecloth, blank cards and paper chains.
They also packed bigger gifts for young people particularly in need, such as young people with no family support.
The gifts were made possible by kind donations from members of the public, who bought gifts from an Amazon Wish List or made a financial donation via JustGiving.
The charity has currently hit 75% of its fundraising target this year.
Volunteer Becca said: “It was extremely insightful to see exactly what was going on behind the scenes in order to ensure each gift is picked and packed appropriately.
“I felt very privileged to be able to contribute towards the running of such a special event – I will be back next year!”
Amanda, also a volunteer, added: “As a family it was wonderful to do something that will make a difference to young people at Christmas.
“Our girls aged 9 and 12 said they want to do more work to support all year round and thought there was a lot of thought that had gone into the gifts.”
Rosanna, a Bathonian who co-founded Christmas for CAMHS, said: “We are so grateful to our volunteer elves for all the time and effort they put in this weekend to make young people feel thought about and special at a tricky time of year to be in hospital.
“We’re delighted that we will be able to reach every CAMHS unit across the country this year, thanks to the generous support of the public.
“We’re hoping to hit 100% of our fundraising target by Christmas Day!”
Anyone interested in finding out more about the Christmas For CAMHS can visit their website, or to make a donation to support the charity’s work, go to their JustGiving page.
