Anyone who has a teenager to buy for at Christmas knows how challenging it can be. But, imagine how difficult that becomes for parents who have fled domestic abuse.

Our good friends at Harbour, who work with families and individuals who are affected by abuse from a partner, former partner or other family member, are achieving incredible things within our region and as an organisation, we try to support them whenever we can. Danielle Chadwick, Tees Valley Service Manager at Harbour explained to us how the people of the Tees Valley are extremely generous at this time of year, with donations of gifts for those who otherwise might not have many presents to open at Christmas. She said: “This year has been particularly difficult for families and individuals affected by domestic abuse. Statistics show that domestic abuse affects a quarter of all women at some point in their lives and the impact of lockdown has seen cases rise this year. Our agency provides advice, support and practical assistance to those in this situation and we recognise this time of the year has additional challenges with the pressures of Christmas.”

She explained how most of the gifts donated are suitable for younger children but they don’t seem to receive as many gifts for teenagers. She added: “Many of these children are taking on huge responsibilities and have experienced things they shouldn’t have had to in their young lives. They find themselves in a situation that can be unique to that of their peers and it is particularly difficult at Christmas as the time of year becomes increasingly commercial.”

We wanted to do something about this and so for the last two years have organised a raffle to appeal to our network to help gift a teenager a Christmas gift. Our managing director Sharon Starkey said: “The business community in our region is always so supportive of local charities and when we heard about the amazing work Harbour does within the Tees Valley we started thinking about how we could help. Rather than donating cash we got creative and started thinking about how we could maximise the budget and turn our donation into much more. We have put together a fabulous hamper and are asking individuals and businesses to purchase a £5 raffle ticket to help us raise as much money as possible. The response already has been amazing and we know the money will go to good use.”

This year’s hamper contains the following:

AU vodka blue raspberry flavour 70cl

Amazon Echo 4th Generation in black

Fitbit Charge 4 Fitness Tracker in black

£50 Marks and Spencer voucher

Hotel Chocolat selection

Blackwell’s Butchers Cheeseboard

Tickets can be purchased by contacting us at Resolution on 01642 061000 or emailing [email protected]. All money raised will go towards Christmas gifts for teenagers who find themselves in refuge in the Tees Valley.

The winner will be selected at random on 21st December and the hamper will be delivered to the lucky winner in time for Christmas.

 

Jenni King

Author Jenni King

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