Following this weeks announcement that further restrictions are coming in to place under the governments Plan B, we have had extensive discussion with our team members and our commercial partners and this is how things will working for the immediate future:
Christmas Appeal
We have re-arranged all collections and office drop-off’s so that we are able to complete the appeal today (Friday 10th December). If you have arranged to come into our office, please can we please remind you to wear a face covering and use the hand gel station on arrival. Our team members will also be happy to wear suitable PPE when visiting your workplace to collect gifts.
We are working hard to check, wrap and allocate the gifts, but due to the number of very generous donations, we will not complete the process until next week. Our team members will continue to work in a safe, socially distanced manner in the YCT office to ensure we can still give the gift of Christmas to children in hospitals in the region.
Although we can drop off gifts, we cannot provide our full grotto experience at Calderdale Hospital, but we have already started the process of arranging a special video call from Santa for those on the ward just prior to Christmas on the day we would have provided our on ward grotto.
Counselling/Play Therapies
We have completed all sessions this week, working in a Covid-Secure way. We have asked visitors to keep on face coverings whilst in our office. Next week is our final working week before our Christmas break and we have liaised with all parents to arrange a free virtual session for next week over Skype. Paid sessions will carry over to the new year and nobody will lose out.
We will continue to monitor the situation and rules under Plan B early in the new year and let our clients know how things will be working from January onwards.
Recycling through house to house collections and clothing banks
We have spoken to Unicare who handle our house to house clothing collections and RMSC who manage our static recycling banks over how Plan B restrictions may alter our recycling services. At this current moment, both RMSC and Unicare will continue to work, wearing PPE when appropriate and using other measures such as social distancing to ensure the services can continue as normal as possible. Both services do not require face to face contact with members of the public so the activities are safe for the public.
The commercial partners will continue to closely monitor how the virus progresses and take note of any further advice from the government and the Fundraising Regulator, taking any appropriate action as may be required.
Other Recycling: Stamps, Coins, Mobile Phones, Ink Cartridges
At the moment, as we only have a week remaining before we take our Christmas Break, we will not be asking for further donations of stamps, coins, mobiles and cartridges until the new year. Please hold on to these until the new year when we will have further government guidance.
How you can help!
Despite further restrictions being in place, Yorkshire Children’s Trust will continue to offer their essential services to some of the most needy and vulnerable children in our community. The charity doesn’t receive any direct funding and relies heavily on donations to provide its support options. If you could please consider helping out this Christmas with a one-off or regular donation? Every penny will be used to support families local to you! We cover our core cost with our green recycling initiatives so we can promise that 100% of every donation goes towards our support options.
Make a difference this Christmas, make a donation to a truly local charity by clicking here