Tag: gifting

Charity to gift books in Edinburgh as families face tough winter

Scottish Book Trust has announced that it will gift books to children and families visiting food banks this winter including Community One Stop Shop (3 Broomhouse Market) as well as Edinburgh Children’s Hospital, and primary school children.

The charity has been inundated with requests, from food banks and local authorities across Scotland, to support more vulnerable children and families facing challenging circumstances.

While the cost of living crisis continues, over a million people in Scotland are already living in poverty, a quarter of which are children.1 Too many children are growing up without books and the impact of this lasts a lifetime. Children and young people who don’t have a book of their own are twice as likely to have lower mental health.2

The charity’s Christmas Appeal 2024 will feature Eric Carle’s iconic and well-loved children’s book character, The Very Hungry Caterpillar with kind permission from Penguin Random House LLC and The World of Eric Carle.

Marc Lambert, CEO Scottish Book Trust, commented: “The power of books and the importance of children and young people having access to books should not be underestimated. Reading has the power to redress the impacts of disadvantage.

“We know the difference that books make in children’s lives and we want to ensure no child misses out. Books bring comfort, escapism and togetherness in families. Every child deserves the magic of a book and donations to our appeal will provide vital support for those most in need.”

Mary Mekarnom, Senior Director, Creative & Strategy, World of Eric Carle Penguin Random House, said “We are so happy that we can help support Scottish Book Trust’s Christmas Appeal this holiday season.

“Eric Carle used to say that he did not see children as a group. He saw a child, a child, a child. Meaning every child has individual needs and has a different way of learning or responding to a book.

“We are hopeful that The Very Hungry Caterpillar can help support this appeal and make a difference in the lives of each individual child and family in need.”

Over the past three years, the charity has given over 290,000 books to children in need of our support and living in areas of deprivation through food banks, community hubs and other charities.

Funds raised from the appeal will enable Scottish Book Trust to give books to families, via food banks, other charities and community hubs, and deliver more of its life-changing work.

Some examples of its programmes include specialist support for young families facing significant challenges through Bookbug for the Home, providing tactile books for children with additional support needs and supporting those living with dementia and the people who care for them.

To learn more about Scottish Book Trust’s Christmas appeal, visit:

scottishbooktrust.com/donate.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation: Poverty in Scotland 2023 report

A third of young people could only last 4.5 months without family financial support

A third of all young people – those aged 18 to 34 – receive regular monetary ‘support gifts’ from their parents and grandparents, according to research from Legal & General Home Finance1.

According to the findings, of those who need financial support to make ends meet each month they could only maintain their current outgoings (e.g. bills, rent)  for up to 4.5 months if this support were to stop.

Many young people appear to utilise gifts from older family members to supplement their income. On average, since turning 18, young adults have received £19,347 in regular support gifts from their parents and grandparents2.

In 2020, the need for family support has increased further.

On average, parents who provide monthly support will give £1,356 a year, in the form of a monthly gift (or £113). This has increased by 26% in 2020, as parents  have added an additional £353 in support to help their children face the financial pressures of the pandemic.

The research comes at a time when young people are more dependent on family as a financial safety net than ever before, as Office for National Statistics results reveal that the unemployment rate among young people is far higher than the overall rate (14.6% vs 4.8%)3.

This pinch may be further impacted by a fall in seasonal jobs due to fewer available non-essential retail roles in the run-up to Christmas, typically filled by younger workers.

For parents that provide financial aid, the majority will come from their own savings (49%) or income (43%). 14% of parents will use property wealth such as the sale of property, to provide gifts. Legal & General has found that of its equity release customers, approximately 1 in 6 will use part of their payments to support gifting.

While most parents like to ensure gifting is split equally across any younger relatives (68%), in one in five cases (21%) the amount given varies across family members. This is usually driven by the individual’s needs (61%) but 27% parents admit they feel closer to the relatives they provide additional support to.

Claire Singleton, CEO of Legal & General Home Finance, said: “It is clear that without the generous gifting of parents and grandparents, many young people would be unable to independently sustain their lifestyle. The monthly cost may not initially seem high but as we can see from our data, the cost of gifting to younger family members can add up over time.

“In addition to monthly support, many parents and grandparents will be called on to provide additional one-off payments to help with large expenses like weddings or putting a deposit on a house.

“Utilising property wealth, by either downsizing or using equity release, can often be helpful here as it allows the opportunity to give a living inheritance without touching your income. However, these decisions aren’t easy and should be closely considered. Be sure to do your research, free information from the Money Advice Service is a great place to start, or, if gifting is likely to have an impact on your retirement income, turning to an adviser may be the right path.”

Many people who provide support are happy to do so, respondents to the research shared the following:

“I supported my younger brother when he started sixth form this year. It really makes me feel good, satisfied and enriched that I’m making a difference in someone else’s life.”

“We provided financial support to my partner’s children during the pandemic… they weren’t working, they didn’t have any savings to pay for their rent. We actually paid for all of them during the time of the lockdown. We’re quite happy to have supported them through it, I wouldn’t see them struggle.”

Those who receive financial aid often feel it brings them closer to their relatives, respondents to the research shared the following:

“It’s been hugely helpful for me as that gave me the push to buy at that time, it’s given me the chance to own my own home … It’s something I hope to be able to do for my own children in the future.”

“I recently received a sum from my aunt, she said she would rather be alive and see me make use of the money…since receiving it I definetely feel a lot closer to her. I just feel eternally grateful that she’s done that for me.”

NOTES

1.Opinium Research ran a series of online interviews among a nationally representative panel of 4,001 UK adults between the 25th September and 3rd October 2020

2.This is averaged across all people 18-34 who have received financial aid from their parents or grandparents.

3.https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/november2020