Festive giving
17 November 2023
7 min read
As the original ethical bank, everything we do is guided by our customers and their values. That means we choose very carefully who banks with us. We refuse banking services to organisations involved in animal cruelty, oppressive regimes or extracting fossil fuels. We partner with organisations that make change happen and stand up for the rights of others.
We’re proud to work with our charity partners, who continue to support the planet, and the people and communities that they work in. But many of them need your help more than ever during this winter festive season. Here’s how you can get involved.
Help change a life and end human rights abuses by sending a message to demand action and offer hope
Make a donation to help tackle youth homelessness, support survivors of abuse or eradicate global poverty
Send a message of hope
Taking action on human rights with Amnesty International UK
Take action this festive season by getting involved in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights campaign. By writing a letter, you could help to change a life.
Write for Rights is an international campaign, encouraging us to stand in solidarity and write messages of support to people who are suffering injustice around the world. Letters can bring hope to people in the direst of situations, and when they arrive in huge numbers, they’re an unmistakeable reminder to those responsible that the world is watching.
Last year, a staggering 5.3 million messages were sent during the campaign and this made a massive difference to those whose human rights have been violated. From supporting those facing the most severe penalties without real criminal evidence, to those being imprisoned for taking part in a peaceful protest, we’re taking a stand.
We are supporting three individuals’ cases for the Write for Rights campaign:
Rocky, USA
Rocky Myers is a Black man with a learning disability. He has spent nearly three decades on death row for the murder of his white neighbour, despite no evidence directly linking him to the crime scene, testimonies riddled with inconsistencies and the recanted statement of a key witness who stated that he lied.
A nearly all-white jury found Rocky guilty and recommended a sentence of life imprisonment, but the judge instead sentenced him to death. Overruling a jury in this way is now illegal in Alabama. Burdened with ineffective legal representation and abandoned by his post-conviction lawyer, he missed deadlines for appeal. His execution could be scheduled at any time.
Write a letter to the Governor of Alabama, urging her to grant clemency to Rocky and commute his death sentence.
Read more about Rocky’s case and how to send a letter of support.
Ahmed, UAE
Ahmed Mansoor is an Emirati blogger, human rights and reform activist. In 2018, he was sentenced to a decade in prison on charges including ‘insulting the UAE and its symbols’. Before his arrest, he regularly raised concerns about the detention, torture and unfair trials of dissenting voices in the UAE. He spoke about problems within the justice system and of domestic laws that breach international ones. Now, he is locked away too – held in an isolation cell without a bed.
Ahmed is only allowed outside three times a week. Guards remove all other prisoners from the yard and he spends the little time he has in the sunlight alone.
Write to the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and tell him to immediately and unconditionally release Ahmed.
Read more about Ahmed’s case and how to send a letter in his aid.
Rita, Kyrgyzstan
Rita Karasartova is a human rights defender and an expert in civic governance. For over a decade she dedicated her life to providing independent legal advice, helping those whose rights had been violated. In October 2022, Rita was arrested alongside 26 others for opposing a new border agreement which risked Uzbekistan taking control of a freshwater reservoir. She was held in a cramped cell for months, had no access to medical care and couldn’t see or speak to her family. Rita is currently under house arrest with a strict curfew.
Rita is charged with attempting to ‘violently overthrow the government’, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.
Write to the General Prosecutor and demand Rita is immediately and unconditionally released from house arrest, all charges against her dropped and that she can carry out human rights activities without fear of retaliation.
Read more about Rita’s case and how you can write a letter to help.
Make a donation
Supporting Centrepoint’s mission to end youth homelessness
Centrepoint, the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity, are raising funds to help vulnerable young people get vital support and safe housing this winter.
The festive season should be a time of comfort, joy and warmth. But for the almost 136,000 young people facing homelessness this year, it’s a time of misery, hunger and fear. By sponsoring a room at Centrepoint, you can provide a young person with the stability and breathing space they need to pursue education and career goals, so that they can build an independent life free from homelessness. Your donation could help give a young person:
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Toiletries and the chance of a fresh start for £10 – we take basic things like soap, deodorant and toothpaste for granted, but living on the streets, sofa surfing or sleeping on a night bus can make it hard for a young person to take care of their basic hygiene
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Home-cooked Christmas Dinner for £15 – this is no ordinary home-cooked Christmas dinner: it’s a dinner filled with safety and warmth and the chance to sit around a table, share stories, and forget about the past for an evening
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Counselling to protect their mental health for £20 – even a single session of counselling can be life-changing: when you buy a session for a young person, you’re helping to give them the vital support they need to recover from their past traumas.
No young person should face homelessness and financial despair. A donation to Centrepoint’s appeal can help protect people most at risk, and support those with nowhere else to go this winter and beyond.
Eradicating global poverty with Oxfam
You can gift differently this festive season by purchasing an Oxfam Unwrapped card which can help to change lives around the world.
Oxfam’s beautifully designed cards, which have a brand new look this year, directly support their work and will fund your chosen cause. Purchase a card with the donation amount you can give and dedicate a personal message to the recipient. In return, you’ll receive a charity gift card in the post to share with a friend or family member. Or you can buy an e-card, which will be sent straight to their email inbox, for a planet-friendly way to make a difference with no postage or wrapping. Some of the life-changing gifts they offer include:
- Stronger Communities cards – these help people to rebuild after conflict, grow resilience for the future and deal with emergencies when they happen
- Women at Work cards – these support women to push for respect, fairness and dignity at work, and to end gender-based violence in the workplace
- Climate Justice cards – these help communities to deal with the sudden impacts of climate change, demand fairness and create a clean, renewable energy system for themselves and the generations to come.
The money from your gift card donation will go towards your chosen cause and help Oxfam to fulfil their mission: to beat poverty for good.
Helping women escaping domestic abuse with Refuge
Refuge are facing unprecedented demand for their services. Every two minutes a woman turns to them for support.
Your donation could help Refuge be there for women and children escaping domestic abuse this winter. By purchasing a Refuge parcel, you can help to give families a safe, hopeful festive period. There are eight parcels available to purchase, including:
- Children’s Christmas Parcel for £15 – children escaping domestic abuse often have to leave all of their toys behind, so your gift could help give them new toys and games to replace the ones they’ve lost
- Emergency Parcel for £25 – after years of financial abuse, many women have no money at all, which is especially hard during the festive season, so your gift could help a mum and her children to share a special dinner together
- Emergency Accommodation Parcel for £50 – your gift could pay for a warm bed in one of their 41 refuges, so women and children can wake up safe and supported.
These festive parcels will make a huge difference to women and children escaping domestic abuse, and funds will also be used to support them throughout the year.
Get help if you or someone you know is experiencing economic abuse
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