For many of us Christmas brings memories of warm cozy days full of good food and presents. However this is not the reality for some young people, in a study conducted in 2025 it was found 1431 households in Aberdeen city were assessed as homeless. Moreover a poverty demographic report showed that 21.8% of young people in Aberdeen city were living in poverty. In response to this, charities in Aberdeen are increasing efforts to provide people in Aberdeen with some help this Christmas. If you have any money left over or any spare tinned goods these are some charities you can donate to!
The giving tree appeal
The Aberdeen based charity ‘instant neighbour’ has launched their annual giving tree appeal. The appeal allows members of the public to pick a tag from a giving tree located across Aberdeen and pick out a present for a child. The tags have details such as the child’s age and gender. The ages range from 0- 12 months all the way to 18 years old. The charity aims to alleviate some of the financial pressure for families at Christmas and hopes that no child goes without a gift. All gifts should be returned to a giving tree location found on their website or on the tags, by the 26th of November. A giving tree can be found on the ground floor of the sir Duncan Rice library.
The charity is also looking for volunteers to help sort through these gifts after the deadline. Details on how to volunteer can be found on the instant neighbour website.
https://www.instantneighbour.co.uk/the-giving-tree/
Curated in the square
‘Charlie House’ is a local charity that supports children and young people with a life threatening or life limiting conditions. This year Charlie House will have stalls at the Aberdeen Christmas village. The project builds off of their curated market in the Bon accord centre and will allow for local business to be highlighted. 100% of the stallholder fees for this curated section will be going to Charlie house to fund their support for young people. The 45 traders will have a range of crafts and arts as well as gourmet food. A walk through the Aberdeen Christmas village is a must! Why not treat yourself or someone you love by contributing to the charity.
Charlie House also welcomes donations via their website to support their work with siblings of a sick child or even bereavement counselling. Details on volunteering for charlie house can also be found on their website.
https://www.charliehouse.org.uk/support-us/donate
Food banks
Community food initiatives north east (CFINE) offers emergency food packs and hygiene supplies (when requested) for struggling families. They also have 5 community pantries set up around Aberdeen city and Aberdeenshire. This works through a membership system, members pay £3 annually to allow them a food shop every week. Members can pick 10 items worth in total £18-23 and only need to pay £2.50. This year CFINE is participating in the Big Give challenge. From 2–9 December, donations you make to CFINE will be doubled. That means twice the impact for your local community. Last year we smashed our original target within 24 hours and raised £2,675 for CFINE. This year we are aiming to raise £5,000 with the first £2,500 donations being doubled by match funding! CFINE is also looking for volunteers at the Tesco food collection on November 27-29th. information on how to volunteer can be found here https://fareshare.org.uk/foodcollection/
CFINE is just one of many food banks across Aberdeen, there is also Aberdeen North food bank. The food bank is partnered with the Trussell Trust to distribute food to families in need. 90% of the food distributed is from public donation. Details on how to donate food can be found on their website as well as information on how to volunteer.
https://aberdeennorth.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-food/
