Majority plan to give back this holiday season with acts of kindness

by Alice Hughes via SWNS

More than eight in 10 adults are planning to be charitable this festive season, with a quarter doing so through acts of kindness and good deeds.

A study of 2,000 adults found many will be looking to help others during the season for giving, either by donating money (35 percent), cooking them lunch (15 percent) or buying gifts from charity shops (18 percent).

The generosity of the nation will see 48 percent be more charitable this year than last.

But 27 percent plan to turn to alternative non-monetary means to spread cheer as a way to help cut back on expenditure.

The research, commissioned by Sky Mobile, revealed other ways people will give back include buying charity Christmas cards (28 percent) and donating items including food (26 percent) and clothes (20 percent).

Wanting to help those worse off or lonely (30 percent) or believing that it is the meaning of the season (29 percent) are driving people's kindness.

The festive spirit also sees December as one of the most popular months, year on year, to generously donate (86 percent), with people gifting to charities an average of four times a year.

But 68 percent would be willing to donate more to charities if they knew there were alternative options, such as swapping their mobile data for a donation (72 percent).

To help people give back this holiday, Sky Mobile has partnered with the NSPCC, so customers can exchange 30GB of their spare data - which will be turned into a monetary donation on their behalf - to help fund important services such as Childline.

Paul Sweeney, managing director of Sky Mobile, said: “The gift of giving has never been more important than it is today, so once again we’re giving our customers the option to donate their data as many times as they like, to help fund vital services this December.’’

The research also found 92 percent believe it’s important to do charitable gestures as much as possible throughout the year, with the promise of spreading positivity (41 percent).

While 65 percent of those being generous this year have also been on the receiving end too, having someone do a kind deed for them at Christmas, including gifting money to help pay for gifts and food (43 percent).

And 52 percent of those polled via OnePoll, would be more likely to donate to charity, be it financially or with time if someone else they knew was already doing so.

Kirsty Lawson, associate head of corporate partnerships at NSPCC, said: “As the Christmas school holidays are fast approaching, we are gearing up to keep our 13 Childline bases open 24/7 over the festive period.

“December and January are common months for children to confide in us about abuse for the first time, so it is vital the service is there whenever a child chooses to disclose.

“Thanks to customers’ generous donations to help fund our services, our counselors will be ready to answer and listen to anyone’s call this holiday season.”

Customers have until Dec. 12 or until the target donation of £70,000 ($85,657) has been met - the equivalent of the cost of funding Childline for two days.

TOP 10 WAYS PEOPLE PLAN TO GIVE THIS CHRISTMAS:

• Donate money
• Buy charity Christmas cards
• Donate items to a charity shop
• Food donations
• Clothes donations
• Buy Christmas gifts from a charity shop
• Donate money or gifts to a pets’ shelter
• Take part in Christmas Jumper day for charity
• Cook Christmas dinner for others (e.g. a neighbor, your local community)
• Send gifts to a children’s charity