Christmas is a time for giving and apprentices at Aberdeen Asset Management have been delighted to give their time in order to provide a brighter festive time for disadvantaged children in the North-east of Scotland.
Just like Santa’s elves at Christmas, they rolled up their sleeves to sort and bag parcels that will bring festive cheer to youngsters. And by taking part in Cash For Kids’ Mission Christmas Campaign, the young staff have made a meaningful contribution that will give joy to underprivileged families in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
Statistics reveal that one in six children in the North-east are living in poverty, and the appeal aims to make Christmas morning special for disadvantaged children and young people, by asking people to give a gift at drop off points throughout the region.
A total of 10 Aberdeen-based apprentices and young colleagues have been among the volunteers that have been helping the 2015 appeal. The public have generously responded to the call to donate gifts, and volunteers have uplifted donations, sorted them into age and gender categories, and selected gifts to match order requests coming in from schools and other organisations.
Charity manager Michelle Ferguson from the Cash for Kids Mission Christmas appeal in Aberdeen said: “We’re delighted that young staff and apprentices, who have study commitments and other responsibilities as they learn in the workplace, have been among our volunteers this year.
“This is a great way to encourage responsible citizenship, and all efforts for the campaign really do make a difference to the lives of families living in our local communities.
“Without volunteers we would not be physically able to do this and at a time when applications are up the public response have been fantastic. We thank all our supporters who have donated cash and gifts, and those who have volunteered.”
Collectively, Aberdeen Asset Management staff have given around 70 hours of hands-on support and were happy to devote their time to such a worthy cause, finding the numbers of families in need of help quite breath-taking.
Apprentice Harry Rothnie (18) said: “It was great to see so many gifts and toys which were bought for those who are under privileged in both the City and Shire. Due to the generosity of the public, it will make Christmas Day an even more joyous and memorable occasion for parents and children this year.”
Fellow apprentice Maja Omarczyk (19) added: “I volunteered to help Cash for kids Mission Christmas’ campaign as I wanted to give something back to the community. One thing that I definitely got out of this is that not all children can be as lucky as others, it is very sad to know that some children could have woke up on Christmas morning without any present to open, but thanks to the generosity of people and the amazing Mission Christmas campaign all children will be able to enjoy Christmas. I’m so happy that I was able to help and I will definitely do it again next year.”
Morven Hutcheon (19), customer services administrator, enjoyed getting involved and said: “It was a rewarding experience that made me think how lucky I actually am. Seeing how many toys generous people in our city have donated and to be given out to children across the North-east was a real eye opener. I didn't realise how many children in my own area were living in poverty. I’ll definitely volunteer again next year.”
Apprentice Abigail Skene (19) was pleased to be able to give something back to her community and added: “It’s so sad knowing that some children could wake up on Christmas with no presents to open, but thanks to the amazing Mission Christmas campaign, these children can wake up and enjoy Christmas with their families.”
Lynn Brown, from Aberdeen Asset Management’s learning and development team said that by volunteering for Mission Christmas, apprentices and young people were able to do something positive to help in their community over the festive season.
Lynn said: “We’re proud of the contribution our apprentices make and this is another example of how our young employees make a positive impact, in this case outwith the workplace in a community project that helps bring happiness to the lives of children at Christmastime.”
Mission Christmas has around 150 drop-off points for donations located around the City and Shire and by the time Christmas comes the appeal will have responded to 5,500 applications for help – significantly up on last year’s figure of over 4,700.