It's that time of year!

Hey everyone,

I hope the last year has been kind to you all, and you have made it through unscathed. I am still working with Focus Ireland in our under 18's homeless services, it's as busy as ever! 

Last year we moved the Santa Drive in the direction of empowering the parents of the children to take control with helping Santa. This meant not just choosing the gift but also enjoying the experience of shopping. Simple activities like shopping are the kind of things a lot of us are lucky enough to take for granted. The families will be supported with this through their incredible case managers in the family services. Empowerment is one of our core values in Focus Ireland, so it feels right that the drive has organically moved in this direction.

This year I will be asking for Smyths vouchers only as they are more straightforward for families as we can divide them up and share them out between the children. The majority of the One 4 All vouchers were used in toy shops last year anyway so it makes sense to have the one pot of vouchers for the same place.

I appreciate people's situations can change over a year, and with everything going on in the world there may be other places you would like to prioritise your donation budget.

If you would like to see the family centre that we will be working with there is a section on this website that gives you an insight into the services.

Looking forward to another great year of the Merry lil Santa Drive!

Thank you,

Rach x