Dress the Christmas Tree collection spreads Christmas cheer and brings relief in a tough economic situation

The collection will take place in parishes in November and December. Leena Kopperi, a diaconal worker for Helsinki Cathedral parish says the Dress the Christmas Tree collection is a concrete way to help people in the area. It is also reliable, since the diaconal workers interview the recipients and assess their situation. The collection allows you to get directly involved in bringing Christmas joy to a child by ensuring that they receive at least one gift.

According to a questionnaire sent out to diaconal workers, the need for help has increased in many areas around the Helsinki capital region over the past year. This is due to, for example, cuts to social security, rising costs of living, and the weakened employment situation. In particular, the situation has become worse for single-person households, people outside the labour force, single parents, and low-income families with children. In many areas, diaconal workers meet new people in need of assistance on a regular basis, including students and young adults. 

- More people in the workforce seek help, including hourly workers, who are not receiving the hours they have been promised. All of the people seeking help live hand to mouth, and cuts to social security have a direct impact on their lives, says Tiina László, a diaconal worker from Vantaankoski parish.

Several diaconal workers specifically mention the increase in the cost of housing, i.e. rent increases and cuts in housing benefits. The distress is real, as people are forced to look for cheaper housing that is nowhere to be found. Evictions due to rent arrears are on the rise.

Dress the Christmas Tree makes poverty tangible

In this situation, not all can afford additional costs such as buying food for Christmas let alone gifts. - For many, Christmas is a communal family celebration and there is a desire to invite the family for a meal or to contribute to the cost of a shared Christmas celebration in other ways. In worst cases, financial hardship prevents people from participating in family Christmas celebrations, which in turn increases loneliness, says Liisa Pohjonen, a diaconal worker for the Espoonlahti parish.

Leena Kopperi from Helsinki Cathedral parish says that the gifts from the Dress the Christmas Tree collection are a significant help to many families. - When life is already difficult, the Christmas season can easily feel like a burden. Families are grateful and often wonder how a stranger could have wanted such good things for them.

For many donors, the experience of giving is important. - Some people contact us in advance and inform us that they want to participate in the collection but can't come to the church to pick up wishes that are hung on the tree. The wishes make tangible that there are people in need in your neighbourhood, Kopperi continues.

Dress the Christmas Tree is a traditional Christmas charity campaign organized by the Evangelical Lutheran parishes of Espoo, Helsinki, Kauniainen, and Vantaa. The parishes hope to receive gift cards as donations. They can be delivered to the parishes in November and December. In some parishes, you can pick up a Christmas wish from the Christmas tree in the church, usually on the First Advent Sunday on the 1st of December. Many parishes also accept gift bags containing coffee and chocolate, as well as flower deliveries.

For the collection website and directions on how to donate in each parish, visit www.rakennajoulupuu.fi

For more information and interview requests

Helsinki
Leena Kopperi, diaconal worker for Helsinki Cathedral Parish, tel. 09 2340 6202, leena.kopperi@evl.fi

Espoo
Liisa Pohjonen, diaconal worker for Espoonlahti parish, tel. 040 547 1848, liisa.pohjonen@evl.fi

Vantaa
Tiina László, diaconal worker and priest for Vantaankoski parish, tel. 050 326 2631, tiina.laszlo@evl.fi

Kauniainen
Sonja Holkerinoja, youth deacon, tel. 050 464 7001, sonja.holkerinoja@evl.fi