In the winter edition of Family Matters we shared the exciting news that John Lewis and Waitrose would be supporting Home-Start through their Christmas community campaign, Give A Little Love.

#GiveALittleLove launched as part of the John Lewis iconic Christmas advert to spread kindness and love to families hit hard by the pandemic.

Money raised through the campaign has been used to support Home-Start families by keeping them WARM during the winter months with clothing and fuel, put a SMILE on faces with activity packs, household items and more, donated FOOD so that children didn’t go hungry, CONNECTED families by offering support to reduce loneliness and removed digital barriers by providing ACCESS to electronic devices and data.

Many lives have been touched by this very special campaign to spread kindness to those hardest hit by the pandemic. Every one of these faces is someone determined to overcome life’s hurdles and do everything they can to build a better future for  them and their children. We are very grateful to work with John Lewis Partnership to make sure that happens.

Donations from John Lewis and Waitrose customers and partners helped us Give A Little Love to...

• A toddler waiting for a heart bypass
• A family in temporary housing after fleeing their violent home
• A little girl who helps care for her very poorly younger sister
• A mum too anxious to leave the house
• A dad raising his two young children alone after his wife died
• A new mum living with postnatal depression

A magical moment

Exacerbated by the pandemic, many families face a tough choice between heating and eating. Thousands of families were given food and fuel tokens.

When Lanke and her family had to move quickly to England from Nigeria for their safety they were not equipped for the cold harsh winter.

Thanks to the donation of winter clothes from John Lewis the family were able to go outside and enjoy their first ever snow day..

A magical moment they’ll always remember.

Read Next - Family Matters: Giving a child the very best start

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