As comments have suggested, Polski Sklep Żubr Abingdon are temporarily overloaded with donations for Ukraine.

R&R have a cellar full. So they have the first lorry load to be taken by a Polish lorry to the Polish / Ukraine border.

There are other ways to donate financially from Ukrainian to Polish Charities to UK Charities. UK charities have launched the DEC humanitarian appeal. The UK Government will match donations from the public pound-for-pound up to £20 million.

The Jack FM and Smeg mince pie marathon has been going for 24 hours with around 5000 mince pies being baked between 19th and 20th December.

They were being baked at Smeg’s new appliance showroom in Abingdon and delivered to care homes, fire stations, police stations and other places of work all round Oxfordshire.

There were also mince pies for sale at Abingdon’s Fairacres Retail Park, the Market Place and Smeg’s HQ. People can leave donations at the https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/smeg-ukmincepiemarathon  to help the charity Special Effect who develop inclusive technology.

The Abingdon Mummers have postponed their tour of the pubs of Abingdon. The upsurge in Covid has made it difficult to get a full team. Their Charity is Be Free Young Carers. They may still do a tour sometime in the new year.

Here they are wishing you a Merry Christmas five years ago.

Christ’s Hospital of Abingdon, Abingdon’s oldest charity (established in 1553), are looking to recruit a volunteer Governor. Governors provide strategic oversight of the charity’s operations, and governors are likely to take responsibility for one of their aims and objectives:
• The care and maintenance of the town’s historical Almshouses.
• Providing grants to those referred to the Charity by care agencies.
• Providing educational grants to school pupils from Abingdon in case of special need.
• Supporting local organizations deemed by the Governors to be of benefit to the residents of Abingdon.
• Providing a public service to the town by maintaining Albert Park for use by the people of Abingdon.

There is more information here or on the Christ’s Hospital website. I do know some people who would love to do this so hopefully they will see this.

The Rotary Club of Abingdon Vesper had a stall on the Market Place, where people remembered a loved one by writing a message on one of the ribbons, which then got attached to the Remembrance Tree. Rotary support many local charities and also have overseas projects such as African fuel saving mud-stoves.

The Abingdon foodbank operates throughout the year, but at Christmas there is a special effort. Over 200 families received parcels / hampers in 2020 and a similar number are expected in 2021.

The parcels / hampers will be put together next week and donations can be taken directly to the foodbank . You can find out more about the foodbank at https://abingdon.foodbank.org.uk/.

There are also easier ways to give.

At Trinity last Sunday there was a gift service and people had been asked for shower gel, soap, shampoo, toothpaste etc.

At Waitrose they have a stall with a list of suggested items for the foodbank when you enter. Shortbread and some others are available to pick up on entry. You can pay for and then put them into the foodbank box on the way out.

P.S. I have not checked out whether this is also happening at Tesco, Little, Coop, Budgens, Reynolds Supermarket, Spar, and Londis.