‘Secret Santa’ help for families in need

Families got an early Christmas treat last week when Northampton-based charity Peak Empower handed out “Secret Santa” packs to make the festive period a little easier.

More than 60 families were offered the chance to pick from a long list of gifts ranging from toddler ride-ons and Lego to Lacombe make-up sets and Christmas trees.

This Sunday, the charity also provided Remembrance Day afternoon teas to war veterans we supported during the summer.

Peak Empower was set up in 2019 to tackle social isolation and has provided support and wellbeing to more than 4,500 people in Northamptonshire. It runs recreational activities for people of all ages and abilities, programmes for children who are home-educated and have additional needs and support for those aged 17+ who are seeking work or further education.

During the summer, it branched out into providing wellbeing packs to families and individuals across the county who were struggling with lockdown, furlough and loneliness, as well as emergency food packs for those struggling financially.

The charity also delivered tablets to care homes to help resident keep in contact with family over video chat and pamper packs for care home staff who have worked so tirelessly during the Covid-19 crisis.

For its latest project, families were offered the chance to order a Christmas gift pack, which were either collected from Moulton Community Centre on Wednesday 4 November or have been delivered.

One recipient said: “Thank you so much for my Christmas hamper. I was overwhelmed by its lovely contents, all of which is very useful and luxurious. Thanks again for all your kindness.”

Another said: “I wanted to say thank you for our Santa delivery. It was so kind of you to put in all those extras for us. We appreciate it so much as we’ve been having a tough time recently.”

Families who picked up their gift packs were also given the chance to grab extra goodies including toys, clothing and cosmetics.

Saffy Tuckfield, founder and CEO of Peak Empower, said: “It was fantastic to be able to help so many families in such a difficult year and I hope our Christmas gift project will make life a little bit easier for people at what can be a stressful time. Everyone was so grateful to receive their packs.

“It would be fantastic to be able to help even more families during this lockdown and we’re always on the lookout for organisations who would like to work with us.”

The Christmas gift project has been made possible thanks to a grant by Northampton Community Foundation (NCF) and support from In Kind Direct, which gives charities access to a variety of discounted products.

Peak Empower have now been granted additional funding by NCF to provide Christmas hampers to families who are struggling this year because of the pandemic.

Saffy added: “Everybody deserves to have a special Christmas and sit down for a traditional festive dinner. We’d love to hear from any businesses that might be able to support us in providing our hampers.”