Kitmas at Cheltenham Town

Aim

We are looking to buy 25 children in low income families in Cheltenham a replica shirt for Christmas as part of Kitmas

Kitmas hopes to brighten the Christmas of many children in the UK, by collecting and distributing football shirts to kids who may not otherwise receive presents this year.

This Christmas, more families than ever before will struggle to afford gifts for their children due to increased financial worries caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Any football fan has childhood memories of the joy and excitement of pulling on a new kit, and Kitmas aims to spread that happiness around the country. It has been supported by many clubs and been featured by the BBC, Sky News and Talk Radio among others.

UPDATE: The campaign has now received its matchfunding from the National Emergencies Trust which meant that all previous donations were instantly doubled at the checkout.

What do we want to do?

We want to raise £500 to buy 25 or more Cheltenham Town junior shirts in the next few weeks. Then we can ensure we get them to young people in our community for Christmas Day. We will work closely with Paul Watson, the founder of Kitmas, and our Community Trust to make sure they are distributed. I've spoken to the club and they are really happy to support this campaign however they can, which is great. Any contribution, no matter how small, or a share on social media would make a huge difference.

Who are Kitmas?

Kitmas was founded by football coach and activist Paul Watson and his wife Lizzie, with support from stand up comedians Vix Leyton and Mark Watson (Paul's brother). This year the campaign has gone international with the launch of campaigns in Canada and beyond.

How does Kitmas work?

Working with regional community groups, we will distribute football shirts to those who will benefit most, making sure that as many children as possible have something to open on Christmas Day.

We closely vet any second hand shirts to make sure that they're in excellent condition and buy new shirts from retailers, then send them to organisations such as food banks and children's centres who distribute them to those in need. 

Our campaign runs until December 8th as many of our centres need to have the shirts in hand at least two weeks before Christmas in order to get them out to their local community.

In our case we will work closely with Paul Watson, the founder of Kitmas, and our own Community Trust to make sure they are distributed.

This project successfully funded on 3rd December 2021