GB News viewers, listeners and readers have helped “save lives and restore hope to families” this Christmas.
It comes after Christians Against Poverty’s Christmas appeal was aired on the People’s Channel, to help churches provide emergency food aid to families in need and to help them out of debt and poverty.
The charity’s fundraising team received an influx of donations, with multiple contributors saying they were giving as a direct result of the news story.
Now, the generosity of GB News viewers, listeners and readers has helped raise £150,000 towards the total fundraising aim of £300,000 for those in need.
Sally Bossingham, Christians Against Poverty Head of Church and Supporter Engagement, said: “Our local church teams step in when households are facing desperate situations and provide emergency food shops, energy top-ups, alongside long-term face-to-face help, such as; helping people out of debt, teaching them money management skills and supporting them back into work.
“This helps transform lives, stop poverty and strengthen our local communities.
“CAP mostly relies on donations and this work is only possible because of incredibly kind people who regularly support us.
“We recently launched our Christmas appeal, supported by GB News, and the response has been absolutely incredible.
One in three children in Britain are living in poverty | GB NEWS
“As a result of GB News viewers’ generous donations, vulnerable families who would’ve struggled to afford enough to eat will get an emergency food shop in their moment of need and long-term support to help them through this difficult time in their lives so they can thrive again in the near future.”
Christians Against Poverty released new research showing Christian organisations are becoming a lifeline for those in need, offering everything from energy top-ups to free debt advice, according to a new report from Christians Against Poverty.
The charity found 12.5 million UK adults, or 23 per cent of the population, reported they, a family member, or a friend has received help from a Christian organisation within the last five years.
“Christians Against Poverty partners with local churches in communities across the UK, to provide vital face-to-face help to struggling families who fall on the hardest of financial times and are facing incredibly challenging circumstances,” said Sally Bossingham, Christians Against Poverty Head of Church and Supporter Engagement.
Britons are being supported by the Job Club run by Christians Against Poverty at Champion’s Church in Skipton
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GB NEWS“Situations like this don’t only take a huge toll on people’s mental wellbeing, they often leave families struggling financially and facing spiralling debts.
“Around half of our clients, before seeking help, considered or attempted suicide as a way out from their circumstances.
“But the generous donations of GB News viewers, supporting CAP’s Christmas appeal, will help save lives and restore hope to families this Christmas and beyond.”
Those facing hardship can feel it most during the festive period and Clare Tither previously told GB News she relied on a foodbank in a church to put food on the table for her children on Christmas Day.
Ms Tither felt worthless after her military career came to an end, and struggling to find work, she contemplated taking her own life.
“I remember sitting on the floor one Christmas whilst my children were in the front room, sitting there thinking I can’t provide anything for them, I’ve no food, whilst I was unpacking a food bank parcel on the floor,” she said.
“Financially, it was unbearable: bailiffs on my door on a daily basis, phone calls, struggling to feed my children, I couldn’t manage anything with day-to-day living and was unemployed.
“I was trying to keep my head above water but I was actually drowning, and I was thinking my children were better off with my parents. I actually contemplated suicide. I felt there was no way out.”
Ms Tither was supported by the Job Club run by Christians Against Poverty at Champion’s Church in Skipton, North Yorkshire.
She gained employment after completing the job club course run by the charity and went on to become an Assistant Job Coach to help others develop the skills to find work.
She said: “I’m so passionate about the work that CAP (Christians Against Poverty) do and the Job Club.
“It did turn my life around and after that first course, a month later, I was back into work.”
Clare Tither relied on foodbanks to put food on the table for her children during Christmas | GB NEWS
Child poverty in the UK is increasing and this winter the challenges are harder than ever, with many parents and children going hungry.
Currently, one in three children in Britain are living in poverty, in cold homes with empty cupboards.
Many families face difficult choices about how to provide for their children, especially during winter.
To help churches provide emergency food aid to families in need this Christmas and long-term support to help them out of debt and poverty, Christians Against Poverty has raised just over half of the funds needed to hit their target of £300,000.
For more information, or if you would like to donate to the Christmas appeal, click HERE