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Supporting new parents
Gifts, practical items and special extras for new parents and their babies, letting them know people across their city are thinking of them.
A Bfriends Christmas appeal · 2026
Be a Friend this Christmas.
Everyone should have somewhere special to go, something special to do and people to share it with. Help Bfriends, the official charity of Birmingham Children’s Trust, make Christmas special for care-experienced children and young people, care leavers and families across Birmingham.
Every gift is anonymous by default.
Together, we can make it happen
Together towards a special Christmas
Fundraising goal£20,000.00
We’re aiming to raise £20,000 for our fourth dedicated Christmas campaign. Our Christmas Day Celebration is a big part of it, but it isn’t the whole story.
Verified amount raised—
—of goal
Loading verified gift count
£20,000.00 to the goal
A tree made by you
Every gift is an act of friendship.
Every verified donation adds one bauble. Gifts from £100 add a present below the tree; gifts of £500 or more also light the shared campaign star. The gift still has its own bauble, and every ornament can be found in the supporter explorer.
Gifts from £100 to £499.99 add a present below the tree.
Select a bauble, a present below the tree, or the shared star to see its supporters and rewards in a detail card. The supporter explorer below provides keyboard access to every gift.
Colours are decorative and do not reflect gift size; every donation is equally valued.
Stripe confirms every payment before it appears in the total or on the tree.
Ways you can help
How will you Be a Friend this Christmas?
Every donation, every gift, every volunteer and every organisation that gets involved helps us reach a little further. Give personally, fundraise with your team or offer practical support. Choose whichever suits you.
If you’d like to give money
Donate to the Christmas Appeal
Give personally, fundraise with your team or contribute as a business. Every gift helps us towards our £20,000 Christmas target and adds a bauble to our tree.
If you’d like to give presents or supplies
Donate Gifts or Items
Help provide gifts to hundreds of children across Birmingham who might otherwise go without. Offer presents, gift cards or supplies, and the Bfriends team will be in touch.
If you’d like to give your time
Volunteer This Christmas
Help prepare for the event, wrap gifts or volunteer on Christmas Day.
You don’t have to donate to make a difference.
Sharing Be a Friend this Christmas with your family, friends, colleagues and networks gives more of Birmingham the chance to get involved. A new parent, a child opening an unexpected present, a young person reminded they matter: your support helps us reach them.
Not sure which way is right for you? Email the Bfriends team at bfriends@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk and we’ll help you choose.
Why Christmas matters
The feeling of being part of something.
For the past three years, Bfriends has hosted a Christmas Day celebration for care-experienced young people and their families, alongside helping Birmingham Children’s Trust distribute hundreds of presents across the city.
Christmas Day with Bfriends
This year, we’re preparing to welcome at least 150 care-experienced young people and their children. From Christmas dinner and refreshments to transport, gifts and a warm welcome, we want everyone to feel included, special and part of the Birmingham Children’s Trust family.
After last year’s celebration, young people told us:
“You lot pulled out all the stops this year, it’s perfect, I’m loving it. A lot of food options, a great selection.”
“It’s nicer here, more spacious... the food is nice... the atmosphere, everything, the people, the staff always asking if we okay. I like it when the Trust does it, we get more from our corporate parents.”
Be a Friend across Birmingham
More than one day.
Throughout the festive period, we’re working alongside Birmingham Children’s Trust to bring extra kindness, celebration and practical support to children, young people and families. One Christmas campaign. Lots of different ways to Be a Friend.
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You matter. You’re not forgotten.
Thoughtful gifts and gestures for young people working with Birmingham Children’s Trust’s Youth Justice team. A small gift can carry a much bigger message.
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Celebrating our apprentices
A Christmas night out for our Care Leaver Apprentices: a chance to get together, celebrate their achievements and enjoy some festive fun.
With thanks
Every supporter helps make room.
Completed gifts will be represented on the tree once Stripe confirms them.
A few helpful details
Good to know.
We want you to feel confident about your gift. If something isn't covered here, please ask the Bfriends team.
Contact BfriendsHow is my payment kept secure?
Card payments are completed on Stripe Checkout. Bfriends does not receive or store your card number. The campaign page only records a gift after Stripe confirms the payment through its signed webhook.
When will my bauble appear?
A bauble is added after Stripe verifies a successful payment. Some payment methods take longer to confirm. Cancelled, failed or unpaid checkouts do not appear. Refunds are reflected in the campaign total, and a fully refunded gift is removed from the tree.
How do the presents and campaign star work?
Every verified donation adds exactly one bauble. Gifts from £100 to £199.99 also add a small present below the tree; gifts from £200 to £499.99 add a larger present. A gift of £500 or more lights the shared tree-top star and keeps its bauble too. Presents and star recognition follow the active gift amount after refunds.
Will my name or message be public?
No, not by default. Your gift is anonymous unless you explicitly choose to share a name or message, either when you give or afterwards on the thank-you page. If you do, it is shown on the tree shortly after your gift is confirmed. Nobody reads it first, but a message that contains a web address, email address or phone number, or that looks unsuitable, is held for the Bfriends team to check before it is shown. It is displayed as plain text, and you can ask us to take it down at any time by contacting the Bfriends team. To list co-supporters on the campaign star, the donor must opt into public display at checkout and confirm that each named person agreed. The Bfriends team checks those names before they appear.
What will this appeal support?
Our £20,000 Christmas appeal supports care-experienced children and young people, care leavers and families across Birmingham. Alongside our Christmas Day Celebration, it helps support new parents, young people working with the Youth Justice team, our Care Leaver Apprentices and gifts for hundreds of children who might otherwise go without.
Does the progress total include Gift Aid?
No. The progress total shows verified donations net of refunds. If you choose Gift Aid, Bfriends claims it separately from HMRC, so it is never added to the total or the tree.
Bfriends is for more than Christmas
Friendship isn’t just for Christmas.
As the official charity of Birmingham Children’s Trust, the organisation responsible for children’s social care across Birmingham, Bfriends is here all year round. Together with individuals, communities and organisations, we celebrate our children and young people, believe in them and help create opportunities.
Get to know BfriendsCould Christmas be where our friendship starts?
Get your organisation involved through fundraising, sponsorship, gifts or vouchers, volunteering or practical support in kind. Beyond Christmas, we’d love to explore mentoring, work experience, guaranteed interview opportunities and care-leaver apprenticeships together.
Get your organisation involvedBe a Friend this Christmas · 2026
There are lots of ways to be a friend.
Donate. Give. Volunteer. Fundraise. Share.
Bfriends is a registered charity (number 1196813) and the official charity of Birmingham Children's Trust.