Can one small charity raise £100,000 in a week?

At FareShare South West, we hope so!

We might be part of a national network, but we’re still a small independent charity that relies on local support to keep the wheels turning. Over 380 individual charities and schools depend on us to rescue and share good food from the food industry, together reaching over 47,000 people.

And in winter, the need just grows and grows. Heating bills go up, high food prices keep biting, and all around are endless messages about extravagance and plenty. If you’re struggling, if you’re lonely, Christmas can feel anything but joyful.

That’s why we’re launching our most ambitious fundraiser yet. The Big Give Christmas Challenge gives supporters a chance to make double the difference with every pound they give. All donations made through the Big Give platform from midday Tuesday 3 December and Tuesday 10 December will be matched – up to our massive £100,000 goal.

How? It’s all thanks to our generous match funders. As well as our Big Give charity champion The Reed Foundation , our match funding comes from supporters who recognise the scale of the challenges we face, and the transformative power of our work – for the environment and for united, connected communities as well as everyone who eats well thanks to our food.

We’re so thankful for financial support this year from Hargreaves Lansdown TOUT'S Group. Origin Workspace Anthony James & Co Enterprise Mobility Ayvens Bluefield Services Ltd Field & Flower Mesa Catering IOP Publishing Focus Accountancy Ltd Grosvenor Consultancy Limited Enlightened Rathbones Group Plc Greenbank Investments Everoze FanHub Arup Bagnalls Double Puc Cafe gcp Chartered Architects Lost and Grounded Brewers Ltd Studio BAD Osborne Clarke - UK Swan Wealth Management Resonance Limited DTVKit Ferguson Mann Architects Dartmouth Foods Shakespeare Martineau , and thank you too to the Big Give .

What happens next?

We’ll be doing all we can to get the message out about the Big Give and our huge £100,000 target. Please help us by sharing our posts, and letting people know that if they donate between 3 and 10 December, they can make double the difference.

Please join us as we try to light up our Christmas tree with donations!

Meanwhile, it’s all hands on deck for our warehouse teams and a host of enthusiastic volunteers, as we open up our emergency winter warehouse in Bristol to pack over 1,000 parcels with food, creative activities and cooking kits, ready to go out to charities and schools. A big thank you to Hobbs House Bakery - Certified B Corporation for mince pies, Crediton Dairy Ltd for UHT milk, and THE SPICERY LTD for custom-made spice kits - all donated to give these food parcels an extra boost.

We’ll be sending food to Caring in Bristol, who support homeless people with hot meals and a wide range of services over Christmas, like warm coats, haircuts and access to health support.

And we’ll be continuing our regular weekly deliveries (with just a few days off over the holidays!), getting good, healthy food that would otherwise be wasted – like surplus festive veg, and turkey legs left over turkey crowns from Field & Flower – out across the whole of the south west.

To all our match funders and pledgers, volunteers, fundraisers, donors, food suppliers, partners and member charities: thank you. We know the need for our support is urgent, but you also remind us why we’re here: to be part of better.

Thank you for bringing a little Christmas joy into so many lives this winter.

#BigGive  #ChristmasChallenge #DoubleTheDifference #LessWasteMoreJoy  #BePartOfBetter