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Families will be facing a bleak time this Christmas as the cost-of-living crisis bites. To mark #ChallengePovertyWeek, the Church-run charity, Faith in Families, is launching its Compassionate Christmas Campaign. Here Cherrie Bija, CEO of Faith in Families, shows how we can help bring the joy of Christmas to those in most need.When we show kindness without judgement, we can really help share in the joy of what Christmas time is known for. Our children and families are facing a crisis that many have never seen before, they are going into this winter – with zilch.If we are motivated to help, this year more than ever, then let us do it with compassion,Let us give families respect and dignity and take away the hopelessness that having nothing brings to them.When the Christmas adverts appear on televisions, very shortly, many families will have already started to get into further debt, planning not to let their little ones know the despair they are living in daily, but to have a glimmer of something to look forward to, when this crisis is miserable and never-ending.We all want to see our children’s faces on Christmas morning light-up with delight in a gift that we have been able to provide, even if we know the hardship that that moment might bring in the days and months after.How grim it would be not even to have a snapshot of the tranquility of belonging during the festive season when the rest of the year we barely survive.Let us give families respect and dignity and take away the hopelessness that having nothing brings to them.If we are all honest, the magical optimistic picture of a cosy, warm home, tastefully decorated with cheer, with snow falling outside as a happy family gathers to share a large over-indulged meal, is not a reality for many of us.This Christmas, more than ever, it really will be a bleak and desperate time for our children and families who are already cold, hungry and going without; who already have the shameful experience of being told what to eat by the package that they collect from the Foodbank, which is becoming their realityImagine growing up knowing your parents are unable to afford to feed you. That they live with the stigma of the little choice in the clothes that they can get from the charity shops and the fact that they can no longer do the laundry as often as they would like.Imagine never being able to choose what you can wear. Imagine your feet squashed into ill-fitting shoes so you daily feel the pain of poverty with each step you take.Imagine not knowing what comfort feels like, having to huddle together to keep warm and facing the ill health coming your way in a future of even more uncertainty.Imagine not being able to buy your child a gift at Christmas time.Imagine not having any hope.Our children and families are facing a crisis that many have never seen beforeSo this year we are asking, if you can and choose to give, to add pride to our Mums and Dads and give them the joy of being able to choose a present they know their child will adore.This will ensure a toy, or book or jigsaw, or whatever their child wants, will be gratefully received. They have seen their son wistfully looking at his friend with the cricket bat, or their daughter dream of rugby shoes to be able to take part in the school team. They know their children more than we do.Each year we are overwhelmed by gifts that generous people donate to our families. We are thankful for them and for the excitement that they can bring.However, for the exact same cost, we could do so much more if we thought about it compassionately.This Christmas if you want to spread some joy to children please do so soon, and please give our parents the consideration and kindness in being part of that joy too.Help us to give them a voucher so that they can be part of the magic and their children can have something from their own Santa’s list.Please donate to our Compassionate Christmas JustGiving page.Support us in our ongoing work caring for these families as we go through the bleak months ahead by donating to our services whatever you can. Best still, come along and volunteer for us.Find out more about Faith and Families