Words by Smiley Team
A Christmas party with treats, jumpers and presents for 600 children in Dorset: this what young carers support charity MYTIME hopes to organise for Thursday 16 December. The charity just needs to raise under £500 in order to reach its target and pay for the virtual event.
For the young invitees, day-to-day life involves caring for a family member, helping complete everyday chores that usually would be done by an adult. So to have some fun will be an invaluable treat.
“These remarkable young people work incredibly hard to take care of their families, day in and day out. And that includes Christmas,” said Penelope Day, the charity’s fundraising director. “Many of them never get a day off and that can be exhausting and lonely.”
“So we want to make sure all the young carers in Dorset get to enjoy themselves over the holidays and receive the recognition they deserve for what they do,” she added.
MYTIME is collecting donations via their Operation Christmas campaign, so they can host the biggest Christmas party for young carers ever in the county, and potentially even in the whole country.
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For this, they are hoping to purchase Christmas jumpers to wear to the party, presents and treats for goody bags that will cost £20 each.
In order to provide this to every one of the 600 young carers on the guest list, the cost will come to a total of £5,000. Currently, at just over £4,500, the fundraiser has two days left till it closes.
The party will offer an unforgettable and a well-earnt break for the young people, who can find themselves caring for a family member when they’re as young as 5 years old. This may involve carrying out tasks such as cooking dinner, washing the laundry or assisting their family member to get up in the morning.
These responsibilities frequently prevent the children or young people from playing with their friends or enjoying hobbies as most others are able to do.
“Throwing them a party and giving them a chance to celebrate together is our little way of saying thank you to them,” Penelope explained.
To help MYTIME Young Carers raise the remaining funds donate at justgiving.com/campaign/operation-christmas.
Find more information about their work at mytimeyoungcarers.org.
