Christmas Giving Charities
Christmas at the OI HQ is always a busy time of year. Lots of stress, lots of sweets and lots of giving.
When we created the 'Wear One Share One' it was always with connection in mind. Connection can be through personally giving out the giving product yourself or through one of our partnered homeless charities that we donate your products to. All charities are carefully chosen to ensure that they carry the same message of compassion and hope that we as a company hold on to. Incase you don't know how our concept works, every purchase comes with an additional product for someone who is homeless. That product is in no way the answer to homelessness, rather a practical product that has been designed to meet the needs of those who are homeless. The reason we love the concept so much is that whether you choose to give out the giving product yourself or choose for us to give it out on your behalf, both options help to reach those who are homeless.
'Homeless' is an umbrella term, meaning not everyone is living on the street. Homelessness can include those living in drop-in centres, emergency shelters, hostels or staying on a friend's couch. If you choose to give it out personally you are most likely to meet individuals who are rough sleepers (living on the streets). On the flip side if you choose for us to donate to our partnered charities they will be helping hand out your products to people who are hidden homeless (couch surfing, emergency shelters and hostels). Both giving options are an amazing help, so regardless to whichever giving option you have chosen this Christmas, we just want to say a huge thanks for being a part of this movement and helping to rewrite the perception of homelessness across the globe.
Who do we give to?
The past 3 years has been a learning experience for our team, not only from a fashion perspective, but understanding the complex issues with homelessness. That's where our partnered charities come into play, educating us on the issues being faced, what's already being done and how we can all play our part together to end homelessness.
This month we've had a huge total of over 3,971 giving products being donated from November. The giving ratio for the month is split 63% of you choosing for us to donate your giving products and 37% choosing to give it out themselves.
So, who are the charities we are partnering with this Christmas?
Tiglin
Tiglin work with those who have been affected by homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction on the streets. They strive to help the whole person and not just the addiction. The Tiglin Challenge approach is to teach a whole new way of living by addressing family relationships, work attitudes, self image, peer pressure, temptation, community relationships and a variety of other life skills.
Their mission is all about providing individuals with an effective and comprehensive solution to life-controlling addiction problems in order to become productive members of society.
Street Soccer Northern Ireland
We met these guys at the Christmas Cabin this year and immediately loved their heart for helping those from disadvantaged backgrounds. They help transform people's lives through football. Street Soccer NI are passionate about bringing positive change to people's lives by offering help, community and hope for the future. Programmes tackle issues surrounding homelessness, unemployment, addiction and mental health issues.
They run free weekly football sessions across Belfast and Derry/Londonderry for men and women from disadvantaged backgrounds. Alongside the football they offer support around housing, employment, addictions, mental health issues and more. They also have tournaments and trips throughout the year including the annual Homeless World Cup.
Storehouse
Storehouse freely provides food, clothes and toiletry packs to families and individuals throughout Belfast who are experiencing extreme financial difficulty. They also assist those moving from homelessness or hostel accommodation into their own home for the first time, by providing furniture & basic household goods.
Storehouse provide good quality essentials to all in need. They also create opportunities for anyone to step out of isolation into a positive, supportive community. Storehouse also encouraging individuals to develop a healthy view of themselves.
The Midnight Mission
As part of the American holiday Thanksgiving. We decided to donate two products for every product purchased from USA. These donations will be sent to The Midnight Mission in Los Angeles. Wanna know more about who they are? Read our blog here.
Barnabus
Barnabus believe that everybody has the right to live in their own home, the right to have friends and family who care, and the right to have a purpose in life. Most of all, they believe that everybody has a right to love. They believe that every person they help is able to transform their lives with a helping hand from them, and from other organisations.
Between 2017 - 2018, Barnabus have supported 2,348 people, almost 1,300 of which were new to the service. They secured a warm bed for the night for as many of these people as they could – 598, to be exact.
Interested in finding out about more of the amazing things Barnabus have done? Click here.
Whitechapel Mission
The Whitechapel Mission has been serving the homeless for 143 years. This involves many things, including a day centre, skills training and career advice, activity programmes and specialist support for complex needs. They believe by encouraging each person to address the issues which caused their homelessness, they help them to gain the skills and confidence to make lasting changes in their lives. Learn more about Whitechapel here.
