Operation Elf - providing Christmas gifts for prisoner's children

Every year more than 200,000 children experience the distress and heartache of losing someone they love because of imprisonment. Through no fault of their own, these children will often deal with shame, embarrassment, stigma and loneliness - and may live in households with parents or carers who themselves are struggling to cope.

This has been an extremely difficult year for many, and prisoners' children and families have faced many months without any visits and little contact with their loved one in prison. In any given year, Christmas can be a particularly painful time for children with a parent in prison, but never more than this year.

Last year, thanks to the generosity of so many parishes and individuals, Pact, the national Catholic prison charity, distributed 3,000 toys and books, which were gifted to prisoners' children by their parents, at special Family Days run by Pact in the run-up to Christmas. This year it is not possible to run those Family Days so a new gift idea needed to be found that could be posted to a child from their parent in prison and book tokens seemed like a really great idea.

Instead of the toys that Pact would usually ask for, this year they're asking you to buy a book token to the value of £10 that can be sent in a Christmas card to a prisoner's child.

You can buy book tokens online from: www.nationalbooktokens.com (using a credit/debit card or PayPal) or from all local bookshops. If you buy your book token online, you can even choose for it to be delivered straight to Santa's Grotto! (Which is really their office: Pact - Operation Elf, 29 Peckham Road, London SE5 8UA). You can also leave a Christmas message for a prisoner's child.

With your help, Pact is working to ensure that these children still get to experience the magic of Christmas. Operation Elf gives you the chance show a little love and care for children with a parent in prison, especially in this most difficult of years.

LINKS

Operation Elf: www.prisonadvice.org.uk/news/operation-elf

Pact: www.prisonadvice.org.uk