Last Thursday, the Waterloo Action Centre was filled with volunteers, Christmas music and wrapping paper as our annual Together at Christmas Wrapping Day brought the local community together to prepare gifts for charities across the neighbourhood.
In the weeks leading up to the day, gifts were generously donated by businesses from across the Waterloo neighbourhood, with boxes collected from doorsteps, offices and shop floors. In total, 18 local businesses took part, helping us support six local charities:
On Thursday 11 December, our volunteers rolled up their sleeves and got to work, sorting, wrapping and preparing the donated gifts during our Community Wrapping Day. By the end of the day, our volunteers had wrapped an incredible 659 gifts.
The images below show gifts donated to Living Space (Bankside Open Spaces Trust) being handed out at their gift-giving afternoon on Tuesday 16 December, capturing the full journey – from donation, to wrapping, to reaching people in our community.
With thanks to our donating businesses
We are incredibly grateful to the following businesses for their generous gift donations in support of Together at Christmas:
Hotel Chocolat • MSMR Architects • CAFOD • International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics • Studio 104 Ltd • Park Plaza London Waterloo • DLD College London • HNR Ltd • Groundwork London • Fabrik Limited • Whitby Wood • Mortimer Isaacs Consultancy LLP • Stride Treglown • ETT • NHS England • Spotlight Sports Group Ltd • Tesla (Europe) Ltd
Alongside the Wrapping Day, our wider community also came together to raise vital funds for local causes through two festive fundraising events.
Our partners at Lambeth & Croydon Foodbank hosted a 24-hour Carolathon at Waterloo Station, raising £15,040 in support of their work. Meanwhile, Lower Wine Bar on Lower Marsh brought festive cheer to the street with Christmas carol singing, raising over £900 for charity, with more than 70 people taking part.
Together at Christmas was made possible by our volunteers, charity partners and local businesses working together to give back to our community at Christmas. Led by Zan Haq, Data and Projects Officer, the project brought weeks of planning and collaboration together into a hugely successful community effort.
Thank you to everyone who donated, volunteered, fundraised or supported Together at Christmas. Your time, generosity and care helped bring people together across Waterloo this Christmas.
