Bobby – Christmas Appeal 2023
Last year, Bobby didn’t even write a letter to Santa.
Will you donate today, to help give Bobby the happy Christmas every child deserves?
Imagine a Christmas without a Christmas tree or twinkling lights, with empty stockings and dashed hopes.
Without a letter to Santa. Without turkey or stuffing or mash. Without laughter and without magic.
For Bobby, Christmas is just another cold, hungry, lonely day. Like all the others before that. Except in the run up to the Big Day, he has to watch everyone else be happy. And he doesn’t understand what his family has done wrong.
Bobby’s family has done nothing wrong. And they have had more than her fair share of hardship.
With a gift today, you can help keep Bobby warm and fed this Christmas.
Bobby’s mam, Anita, is raising him on her own. She has been hit and shouted at by Bobby’s father, and finally managed, with our help, to break free of him. She had to. To protect her little boy.
But even though they are both safer now, thanks to Anita’s incredible courage, things haven’t been easy. Anita cannot afford the cost of childcare for Bobby, so she’s not able to get a full-time job to support them both. She works part-time when Bobby is in school, and tries her very best to make ends meet with whatever little money she has, but it is never enough.
When Anita first met with their Barnardos case worker Claire, she explained that there wasn’t any money set aside for a rainy day, let alone for Christmas. She lives with the fear of the washing machine breaking, or worse, the car. She lives in a remote area and can’t go anywhere without it. She usually only puts the heating on in two rooms in the house: the living room and Bobby’s bedroom. And now there’s dampness in all the other rooms. She worries this will make Bobby sick.
Will you give an urgent donation, to help make Christmas special for Bobby?
Meanwhile Bobby, who at his young age cannot possibly understand all this, wakes up hungry every morning. He doesn’t complain, though, doesn’t ask. Not since his Mam broke down crying when he asked if he could have a little more cereal.
Please, can you send a gift to support children like Bobby?
Your gift can help ensure that Bobby, and children like him, receive the gift of love, hope and happiness this Christmas.
As Christmas approaches, we hope you’ll understand why we are asking for your help.
What children like Bobby really need is for their life to improve when they get home and in the long term. They need warmth and a full belly every single day, not just at Christmas. And they need the tools to be able to overcome whatever it is that life has thrown at them.
Can you donate today to give Bobby the same chances every child deserves, at Christmas and beyond?
Every single donation goes a long way in making a difference to the lives of children like Bobby.
A gift today....
... means that children like Bobby can receive hot meals in one of our Barnardos Centres, and even take part in a little Christmas celebration and receive treats!
By donating...
... you can also help ensure the parents of children like Bobby are equipped with the parenting and budgeting skills they need to make sure their children don’t go without the essentials – including a warm meal and presents at Christmas.
And if you can afford to give a generous gift...
... Bobby and children like him will be able to receive individual support in Barnardos, where they will learn to recognise and cope with all the overwhelming feelings that come with their traumatic experiences. So they can be children again. And that they too can have a happy Christmas just like every child deserves.
While Bobby’s story is true, We have changed all names and some other details in order to protect the family’s identity. Photos used are models.