Charity's cards carry more than a Christmas message
A Scottish charity is urging people not to let their family Christmas card traditions fade after feeding a million hungry children through the sale of its festive greeting cards, all designed by a talented staff member and Glasgow School of Art student.
Mary’s Meals has sold almost 220,000 Christmas cards across the past five festive seasons, enabling the charity to provide a nutritious meal to more than a million children in some of the world’s poorest communities.
And at a time when research suggests the tradition of exchanging Christmas cards in the UK is fading, Mary’s Meals has bucked that trend. It has been estimated 150 million cards are sent across the country every Christmas, but according to the Post Office, one in three sent fewer cards last year than in previous Christmases, while 15% stopped sending Christmas cards altogether. Yet, in the last festive season, Mary’s Meals has seen the popularity of its cards rise, selling over twice as many as the previous year.
Mary’s Meals, which started feeding just 200 children from a shed in the Scottish Highlands, feeds three million children with a nutritious meal every school day in 16 countries. The charity’s low-cost approach means it can serve a school meal to a hungry child for just 10p, while £19.15 will feed a child with Mary’s Meals for a full school year. This festive season, shoppers can purchase a pack of 10 greetings cards for £5, which will feed 50 hungry children and give them the gift of hope this Christmas.
All of Mary’s Meals’ Christmas cards are designed in-house by Supporter Care Manager and artist Nell Keay.
She said: “Christmas cards are such a sweet thing to send to someone, particularly people who maybe you don’t necessarily talk to very much, as we all have busy lives. It’s just a nice reminder you’re thinking of someone.”
“Although the tradition of sending a Christmas card to a loved one is perhaps fading among younger people, for the children we reach with Mary’s Meals, Christmas cards still matter. The sale of a pack of Christmas cards is enough to provide 50 meals – if you can buy one pack and make a loved one happy, it would certainly make lots of children happy too.
The milestone follows a major scale-up of Mary’s Meals’ school feeding programmes across nine countries. Donations can be made at donate.marysmeals.org/gb.