Hope Into Action Portsmouth praises citywide Comfort and Joy Appeal

The Comfort and Joy Campaign is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, marking the significance of the appeal for people in need.

The appeal was established in 2002 to reach out to vulnerable people that are less fortunate than others to give them something they can cherish during the season of giving.

Over the years, it has accumulated more than £20,000 worth of donations, which have been collected in the form of £5 gift vouchers, and then distributed to charities across the city who are involved.

People are encouraged to either donate a gift voucher or a Christmas card with a special message inside, which are then given out to people that need extra support.

Tracey Ansell, Hope of Action Portsmouth’s chair of trustees, said: ‘It makes a big difference. For our families, they will be able to get presents that they can chose and for single people, it means they can spend it on their family.

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Hope Into Action Portsmouth seeks to find homes for people that have become homeless for a range of reasons including addiction recovery, single parent families or financial hardship. They opened their first house in 2019 and have been growing ever since with the demand increasing.

They have been involved in the Comfort and Joy campaign for the past three years and have praised the appeal that shows an act of kindness from people in the city.

Tracey added: ‘I have to say I think a lot of people this year will be using the vouchers to pay for their bills, and food and just keeping themselves warm this winter. It makes a massive difference to them and it is quite life changing and once they receive them, they are beyond grateful. Just knowing that when you have struggles around money or family or other kinds of trauma, you can feel quite isolated so knowing that someone else is thinking about you, even if it is a complete stranger, it has a huge impact.’

This year, the campaign has set themselves a target to raise £20,000 worth of donations this year to celebrate their anniversary, as well as taking them up to a grand total of £200,000 raised over the years.