A Battersea charity is calling for people to dig deep and take part in Giving Tuesday – a charitable antidote to the frenzied Black Friday and Cyber Monday online shopping sprees.
Multi-purpose charity Katherine Low Settlement (KLS) has served the people of Battersea and Wandsworth since 1924 by offering support to children, families and older people in who are struggling.
They are asking kind-hearted consumers to take part in the philanthropic campaign to help those in the community.
KLS Director, Aaron Barbour, told SW Londoner that he finds Black Friday a worrying anomaly.
He said: “We increasingly live in a consumer time, but we need to think more about our neighbours and our community, and the ways in which we can help them.”
Mr Barbour sees Giving Tuesday as a perfect opportunity for people to offer help to those around them.
“It’s all about building a stronger community in Battersea and Wandsworth, and in doing so tackling poverty,” he said.
“We work to really understand why people are coming through our doors and look to address those root causes.”
KLS works alongside 38 other charitable partners in the community to help people at all stages of life.
Mr Barbour said: “If there’s one word to describe Katherine Low, it’s ‘relationships’.
“We build and maintain relationships with people as we help them, and it really does make a difference.”
More than 1,400 UK charities and businesses are joining the global movement to give something back, asking people to take a break from the shops and give a little time, money or their own voice to a cause they care about.
Research by the Charities Aid Foundation suggests that more than half of people agree that giving to charity makes them feel happier than shopping in the sales.
Head of Policy and Campaigns at the Charities Aid Foundation, Hannah Terrey, said: “It’s staggering that the Black Friday shopping frenzy has engulfed our high streets, email inboxes and web browsers.
“We all like a bargain, but there’s more to life than sales, so many people want a chance to give something back, which is why we are encouraging people to pause, take a breath and join in Giving Tuesday.”
KLS will be kicking off the Christmas season on Giving Tuesday with carols in Battersea square.
For more information visit http://www.klsettlement.org.uk/
Picture courtesy of Rachel Johnson, with thanks
