Most Brits say they’ll be charitable over Christmas through donating money & acts of kindness

MORE than eight in ten adults are planning to be charitable this festive season, with a quarter doing so through acts of kindness and good deeds.

A study of 2,000 adults found many will be looking to help others during the season for giving, either by donating money (35 per cent), cooking them lunch (15 per cent) or buying gifts from charity shops (18 per cent).   

The generosity of the nation will see 48 per cent be more charitable this year than last.

But 27 per cent plan to turn to alternative non-monetary means to spread cheer as a way to help cut back on expenditure.

The research, commissioned by Sky Mobile, revealed other ways people will give back include buying charity Christmas cards (28 per cent) and donating items including food (26 per cent) and clothes (20 per cent).

Wanting to help those worse off or lonely (30 per cent) or believing that it is the meaning of the season (29 per cent) are driving people's kindness.

The festive spirit also sees December as one of the most popular months, year on year, to generously donate (86 per cent), with people gifting to charities an average of four times a year.

But 68 per cent would be willing to donate more to charities if they knew there were alternative options, such as swapping their mobile data for a donation (72 per cent).

To help people give back this holiday, Sky Mobile has partnered with the NSPCC, so customers can exchange 30GB of their spare data – which will be turned into a monetary donation on their behalf – to help fund important services such as Childline.

Paul Sweeney, managing director of Sky Mobile, said: “The gift of giving has never been more important than it is today, so once again we’re giving our customers the option to donate their data, as many times as they like, to help fund vital services this December.’’

The research also found 92 per cent believe it’s important to do charitable gestures as much as possible throughout the year, with the promise of spreading positivity (41 per cent).

While 65 per cent of those being generous this year have also been on the receiving end too, having someone do a kind deed for them at Christmas, including gifting money to help pay for gifts and food (43 per cent).

And 52 per cent of those polled, via OnePoll, would be more likely to donate to charity, be it financially or with time, if someone else they knew was already doing so.

Kirsty Lawson, associate head of corporate partnerships at NSPCC, said: “As the Christmas school holidays are fast approaching, we are gearing up to keep our 13 Childline bases open 24/7 over the festive period.

“December and January are common months for children to confide in us about abuse for the first time, so it is vital the service is there whenever a child chooses to disclose.

“Thanks to customers’ generous donations to help fund our services, our counselors will be ready to answer and listen to anyone’s call this holiday season.”

Customers have until 12th December or until the target donation of £70,000 has been met – the equivalent to the cost of funding Childline for two days.