Welcome to Britain’s Victorian Christmas, where volunteers in Santa hats fulfil the basic functions of the state | Frances Ryan

Welcome to Britain’s Victorian Christmas, where volunteers in Santa hats fulfil the basic functions of the state | Frances Ryan

Charities, Voluntary sector, Inequality, Poverty, Philanthropy, Society Business | The Guardian

​There is something inescapably bleak about a nation that relies on charity appeals to fix its social and economic problems“Will Santa find me?” a subject line in my inbox asked last week. I wondered briefly if my niece had moved to email with her questions about the logistics of gift delivery. In fact, it was from Refuge: a Christmas appeal for children spending the holidays with their mums in a women’s shelter.Over the past fortnight, I’ve seen more marketing for charities than supermarkets: from Instagram ads by Crisis hosting Christmas dinner and support for homeless people to X posts by Action for Children hoping to get gifts for kids whose parents can’t afford one.Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist Continue reading… 

There is something inescapably bleak about a nation that relies on charity appeals to fix its social and economic problems

“Will Santa find me?” a subject line in my inbox asked last week. I wondered briefly if my niece had moved to email with her questions about the logistics of gift delivery. In fact, it was from Refuge: a Christmas appeal for children spending the holidays with their mums in a women’s shelter.

Over the past fortnight, I’ve seen more marketing for charities than supermarkets: from Instagram ads by Crisis hosting Christmas dinner and support for homeless people to X posts by Action for Children hoping to get gifts for kids whose parents can’t afford one.

Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist

Continue reading… 

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