A local man who has been on a mission to support families in the town is aiming to help even more this year.
Richard Aylward runs Christmas Cheer, a charity that provides Christmas dinner hampers to local families facing hardship.
“For a while, I was providing a hamper to one local family, but then I thought, why don’t I increase it? Last year we helped 40 families, but this year, I want to up the game and try to help around 100 families,” explained Richard.
Each year, Richard works with schools in Melksham to identify families who would benefit from the scheme. They are then gifted with a hamper containing all the ingredients for a ‘great’ Christmas dinner, including Christmas crackers and an after-dinner game.
“The idea is to take pressure off the parents at Christmas so that the children can see there is something better,” says Richard, who begins working on the scheme as early as February. “They don’t have to accept living hand to mouth all the time, and for one day of the year, they can have a fantastic Christmas.”
All the items in the hampers are sourced from local and national supermarkets, and this year, Richard is working with a butcher in Melksham to provide the turkey. Last year, the hampers were sourced from a company in Corsham.
Funding for the hampers comes from a donation page, which Richard shares with local businesses, and he also contributes his own funds.
“The idea is that, long-term, the scheme might inspire the children to do better in school, get a better job, and make something of themselves,” says Richard, who had been donating money to charity for several months but decided he wanted to start donating his time instead.
“I used to give money to charity and set up a direct debit to pay each month. I was paying quite a lot to charity on a monthly basis. Then I thought that isn’t really enough. It’s easy, but the real giving is giving your time, so I stopped giving money to charities and started giving my time,” he said.
As well as helping local families, Richard works with the council to drive disabled children in Melksham to school. “The children are really impressive; they are a lot of fun,” he says.
To help the charity expand, Richard is seeking more volunteers and trustees to join its board. For more information, email contactchristmascheer@gmail.com.
Pictured: Caroline Aylward, Clare Richter and Richard Aylward
