Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

Making Space, a national health and social care charity which runs Halifax-based Carers Wellbeing Service Calderdale and Calderdale Mental Health Carer Support, says as well as vital fundraising, this will help people to spend less money during the cost of living crisis, as well as benefiting the environment.

Bob Towers, fundraising manager at Making Space, said: ‘We are supporting vulnerable people through the cost of living crisis including unpaid carers, people with mental health conditions and people living with dementia.

“Many people are at breaking point with energy and food costs rising. Carers and disabled people spend more time at home, have more assistive equipment in their houses and travel more to medical appointments, so they have the least money but are proportionately spending more.

Nat Bargery and Bob Towers from Making Space

“This campaign helps you to spend less, whilst supporting a charity at the same time.

“Making Space is in a fortunate position that our fundraising team is paid for by management costs, so all of the donations will go directly to frontline services.”

The charity says that in the UK approximately 150 million cards are mailed each year at a cost of around £1.6 billion. Sending fifty cards could cost around £84 with a further £42 on postage.

Instead, Making Space is asking people to make a one-off charity donation in return for sending its cheeky ‘elf-tronic’ Christmas card as many times as they want.

A Calderdale charity is urging the public not to post physical Christmas cards this year - but to send electronic cards instead and donate part of the savings to charity.

The charity’s Elf and Social Care Christmas campaign supports carers' services around the UK, including in Calderdale, with the promise that 100% of funds raised will be used to directly help unpaid family carers.

Keri Smith, the charity’s head of development and fundraising said: ‘The cost of living crisis is also a mental health crisis due to the anxiety created when people are unable to have their basic needs met and can’t see a way out of the situation they are in.

“We now need more funding than before to offer additional help to the people we support in Calderdale and beyond, whether that be food vouchers, money for energy bills, household goods or extra mental health support.”

‘Send an elf to help a carer’ urges Calderdale charity

For more information on Making Space’s ‘elf-tronic’ cards, visit https://fundraising.makingspace.co.uk/elftroniccards