This week, Caritas Westminster was pleased to launch its annual Advent Giving Calendar, encouraging adults and children across the Diocese of Westminster to support their neighbours over the Advent and Christmas season.
The calendar helps diocesan parishes, schools and communities to collect items throughout Advent and donate them to local projects tackling food insecurity, such as food banks, pantries, food-sharing initiatives and community meals. The aim is to support food projects during the winter period when demand is highest, with suggestions for donated items provided directly by volunteers working on the frontline.
For each day of Advent, the calendar invites parishioners, families and school communities to contribute a specific item – ranging from non-perishable food to toiletries, cleaning products and festive treats – to their local food project. These seemingly small daily acts come together to create a powerful collective impact.
There are more than 300 food projects across the Diocese of Westminster, some of which spend up to £1,000 per week on supplies to support local families; the Advent Giving Calendar remains a practical and effective tool that helps keep these projects stocked.
The Advent Giving Calendar campaign marks its seventh year in the Diocese of Westminster in 2025. The initiative has generated significant engagement since its inception: in 2024 alone, the calendar was sent digitally to all of the diocese’s 200+ parishes and 207 schools, and was downloaded almost 600 times.
In 2024, over 70 parishes, schools, projects and Caritas services also requested printed calendars, of which over 2000 were distributed. These efforts resulted in the collection of approximately 4,500 bags of food and essential items across the diocese.
Feedback from participants shows the scale of the initiative’s impact. The White City Community Food Hub saw a particularly high response to calls for donations, reporting that they received 250-300 bags of food from other parishes, schools, businesses, and their own parish community.
Caritas Westminster invites all parishes, schools and community groups to take part in this year’s Advent Giving Calendar, helping to ease pressure on local food projects and ensure that families across the diocese receive the support they need this Christmas and beyond.
View and download the Advent Giving Calendar here.
