An encouraging (anonymous) email from someone who has caught the vision of Just Christmas. Read away… 

Hello All

I have no desire to deprive anyone of the pleasure of gifting me something tangible in person for Christmas, but I WOULD like you to know, that I would be JUST as delighted if any of you wished to give an equivalent donation to JUST CHRISTMAS instead.

I  do not wish to be controversial on this issue, but I hope you’ll all take me on trust; I wouldn’t say it otherwise.

All my material needs are currently over-provided for ( apart from a decent night’s sleep!) and I would be delighted if any of you were to choose this as an alternative option

Looking forward to seeing and spending time with you all soon. D 

Will you encourage your friends, family and those around you to do Christmas differently this year? Have you given yet? What are you waiting for! 

Last year my family gathered around, feeling full and content with Christmas dinner, and tore into presents. Laughter, thanks and admiration were quick to follow. The dog happily gnawed on her Christmas bone and the cat dodged into recently opened boxes. At the end of the flurry my mother looked at the pile of wrapping paper in the middle of the floor and said “Next year we should do something differently.”

This year, we aren’t spending money on gifts on each other. Not that we dislike presents! But we recognise that we are fortunate to have everything material we need – and more – in our day to day lives. We’re going to switch our focus to the other gifts we can give each other – a sincere compliment, spending time together, cooking a favourite meal or a hug! It all sounds overly simple but we (as a family) often overlook these things and don’t do them as much as we could. It will be challenging but Just Christmas in the last few years has challenged me that Christmas isn’t just about shiny toys and ribbons. Jesus came to show us that the greatest gift is love and sharing it with others – however you show it! It is a gift that goes far beyond December 25th!

Will you do something differently this Christmas?

In 2003 the average American bought $835 worth of gifts for Christmas for friends, families, pets, colleagues. On top of this they would often spend just as much on food. I googled ‘how much do we spend on average at Christmas’ and many a folk were spending upwards of £3,000 every year apart from in these ‘lean years’ were this was cut back to a mere £2,500.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas and if I had that kind of income I would hopefully not just spend it on myself and choose to bless others. At Just Christmas though we are proposing that the others doesn’t just include close friends and family. We are in a unique position every Christmas. With just a bit of planning we can give an added present which isn’t that big compared to these figures above.

If we each gave £35 (not an insignificant amount but somewhere close to an average present?) 10 of us could pay for a Dalit family to have an income they control for life.

And that’s just 10 people!

So our challenge to you this Christmas. Think ahead. Plan for an extra present which could just be the best one one you give. One which lasts forever and still doesn’t break the bank.

What do you think?

Just Christmas is currently in its 5th year of raising money focused on how we can do Christmas differently. Here’s a run-down of where the money went previously:

2007: £36,000 was raised to build a school for Dalit children in Porbandor however due to problems over the land this was transferred to a similar school in Nagpur.

2008: £40,000 was used to build a school in Sholapur.

2009: £40,000 was used for a variety of projects in and around Pune. £10,000 was used to support slum outreach, £5,000 for the completion of a church building, £13,000 to pay for tuition of children at Kadith, £4,000 for a community health worker in Kadith and £8,000 for evangelistic film teams in Maharashtra state.

2010: £32,000 was raised to sponsor children at Kadith and Sholapur.

Every year God has used us to provide each of these gifts by shifting our focus each Christmas. What difference can we make this time around? Could we provide over 2,000 deprived Dalit families with an income for life? Could we help the homeless to feel at home in a community? This is an amazing opportunity to give a present which isn’t Just for this Christmas.

We often think of donating to a fundraising campaign as us, those who are lucky to have been born into a context where we can give money to those who are not so fortunate. A transfer of wealth from rich to poor wherever they are. But this can pose more question?

-          Why am I giving, is it for my ?

-         Where and how far will that money go?

-         How will it change our attitude or that of whoever is receiving it?

-          Am I just fuelling dependency?

These questions are all great to ask. Often there was no long term strategy in charitable giving. What will happen when the money runs out?

The great thing about the project in India it is sustainable. There is not the need for ongoing cash injections. A one off of £358 will give a family the chance to start up something which will give them this. Rather than giving money with no long term aim we are using what we have been blessed to create these opportunities for our brothers and sisters around the world.

Please consider how you can bless others, in a gift which will never run out. It’s such a small price to give a family economic opportunities and hope which will last a well beyond Christmas.

Just Christmas is an invitation to do Christmas differently. Focusing on giving to others in recognition of the gift of life we have been given through Jesus whom we celebrate the birth of as well as doing Christmas in a more just and simple way. Over the past four years we have raised over £100,000 for various projects in conjunction with Operation Mobilisation in Maharashtra, India. These projects have been focused on the empowerment and education of the Dalit caste that are historically downtrodden, poor and lacking the employment opportunities beyond the most demeaning and lowly paid jobs.

This year we will be raising funds for two projects.

75% of the funds will be used to establish Livelihood Augmentation Management Programmes (LAMPS) otherwise known as Micro-enterprise or Micro-finance projects. These are a means of providing financial security to Dalit families who lack the financial security to access banks and savings. The LAMPs projects provide start-up capital and relevant training that can empower and enable a Dalit to start a micro-enterprise which will provide the relevant income for their household.  These groups are administered by Operation Mobilisation (OM) who have a history of micro-enterprise to help relieve poverty and bring a message of hope. They are now hoping to setup these projects in Maharashtra with our help. For more information check out www.om.org.

Each of the LAMP groups we will be raising money for has 10 members who will receive a loan of Rs, 20,000 (approx. £260). These will be trained and managed by staff from OM India who will constantly visit and give assistance to sustain their enterprises as successful business. As the loans are repaid at a very low interest rate, this money will be used to form 50 more LAMPS groups which will in total give financial security to over 3,000 Dalits in a sustainable way. Money collected from interest will be used to support the cost of further training and office costs.

These groups have been extremely successful in other parts of India and we have the exciting opportunity to provide the funds for them to start in Maharashtra state. For the first 10 LAMP groups, £358 will provide financial security for a Dalit family for life and this money will also go on to provide the funds to setup further groups.

This year 25% of the money will be going towards the Bethany Christian Trust’s Pass the Baton project. Passing the Baton is Bethany’s community resettlement project which works to prevent repeat homelessness.  It works by helping formerly homeless or vulnerable people to resettle into communities.  The service is coordinated by trained staff and delivered by the people that we believe can really make the difference – the people in our communities.  They equip volunteers to support families and individuals to paint and decorate their house, participate in social events, and build positive relationships.  They help people to settle in their home and integrate into the community. For more information please visit www.bethanychristiantrust.com.