The organisation, which supports single parents around Scotland, has said that this time of year can be especially hard on struggling one parent families due to the pressure to buy gifts and create a special experience for children.
Official statistics show 49 per cent of children in single parent families now live below the poverty line.
This year, the Glasgow and Lanarkshire services are calling for donations of new toys, children’s clothing and non-perishable foods under the banner of its ‘12 Weans for Christmas’ campaign, while the Dundee-based service is seeking gifts for the often-isolated parents it supports.
One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS) director Satwat Rehman said, 'The everyday pressures of making ends meet can often come to a head at Christmas with the additional costs of presents and food tipping many families into debt or deeper into debt.
'Our Christmas appeal aims takes some of that pressure off families so they can relax and enjoy their time together.’
One in four families in Scotland are single parent families. There are around 190,000 single parents with more than 291,000 dependent children.
Manager of OPFS Glasgow and Lanarkshire Linda Pople said, ‘Many parents are going without food on a regular basis and are struggling to have money to put in their gas and electric pre-paid meters just to get gifts for their kids. ‘
'Parents are trying to provide Christmas for their kids and on many occasions are going into debt to pay for gifts that they can't afford because they don't want to let their kids down. ‘We rely on people like you to support us with donations of new toys, new clothing and non-perishable foods, or cash donations to help pay for heating costs during this time.’
The Dundee appeal is calling for donations of small items, including slippers, socks, gloves, hats and scarves for parents. The service will also provide hot chocolate cones, reindeer food bags, chocolates, and nice biscuits for the parents to share with their children.
Manager of OPFS Dundee Kim McRae said, ‘Parenting alone is tough and demanding and the impact of this on parents’ well-being can result in them feeling unappreciated and alone. Many of these parents are isolated, with little or no family support or social circles. Their reality is that they will have nothing to open for themselves on Christmas day.
'In Dundee, there are good toy appeals that we can apply to if any families need this kind of support, hence why we didn’t feel the need to ask for toys. We also find that the single parents we support will go without in the build up to Christmas as a means of providing gifts for their children. ‘
'We want to be able to give something to the parents to make them feel a bit better about themselves – to feel that someone cares about them too.’
A fundraising evening has already been held by the Dundee service in support of its appeal, raising £600. Lush has also donated toiletries.
Sarah, a single parent with two children, said, ‘Christmas is meant to be a happy time but for me it just causes me more stress. I don’t have enough money to get by week to week and now I have to find money to get toys for the kids.
‘How do you tell a kid you can’t afford to buy them anything when they think it comes from Santa? I just want us to go to sleep on Christmas eve and wake up on Boxing Day when it’s all over.’
More information
To arrange drop-offs for donations for the gift appeals by 13 December contact OPFS Glasgow on 0141 847 0444, OPFS Lanarkshire on 01698 239 961, and OPFS Dundee on 01382 501972.
Donate to One Parent Families Scotland at any time via https://www.opfs.org.uk/community/donate/
