All the #stalbanspostboxes toppers are made with love, imagination and possibly some swearing, and at no cost, by volunteers.
Business sponsors generously gave their money.
Admin, emails, phone calls, helpers, web designers and hosters, map artists, app designers, photographers, Facebookers, bloggers, Instagrammers, all donating time and expertise behind the scenes.
We choose charities for the work that they do locally and for the wide range of people they support in and around St Albans.
ALL money received for the topper sponsorship is paid direct to the charities. Admin and support is provided by Clare and team at Atlas Translations; and Candy Stuart and Lucy Dronfield co-ordinate the fabulous volunteers on the yarnbombing team – who work practically all year!
2023 Charities – Cancer Hair Care and Hertfordshire MIND Network
Cancer Hair Care is a Hertfordshire based charity, founded by a local specialist hairdresser – Jasmin Julia Gupta, that has compassionately supported thousands of children, young people and adults throughout their cancer hair loss journey. The charity’s services are completely free of charge and include expert guidance from Hair Loss Specialists and bespoke Hair Loss Support Packs; including items such as Hair Loss Dollies, specialist headwear and products so that cancer patients can maintain their dignity.
Jasmin Julia Gupta, Cancer Hair Care Founder and Director of Information and NHS Clinical Services said “We are delighted that Cancer Hair Care has been chosen as one of St Albans Postboxes’ charities for Christmas 2023. It is such a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness and much needed funds for the charity, which will enable us to provide comfort to cancer patients during the festive season and beyond. The money raised will be used towards services such as free one-to-one consultations with our Hair Loss Specialists and comfort support packs, sent to patients being treated at local hospitals and to children from Hertfordshire, being treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital”.
Find out more at: www.cancerhaircare.co.uk
Hertfordshire MIND Network
We work throughout the county to promote positive mental health and wellbeing. Our wide range of services is available from eight Wellbeing Centres and various other locations across Hertfordshire. These services are locally funded and accessible to all Hertfordshire residents aged 18 and older, with dedicated mental health services available for those aged 5 to 18.
Our vision is to ensure that every person in Hertfordshire will feel supported with their mental health.
We create opportunities for individuals experiencing mental ill health to make choices, discover their solutions, build resilience, and manage their wellbeing. This empowers them to recover from or live well with mental health issues.
In partnership with Mind in Mid Herts, we offer a comprehensive range of mental health services in St Albans and the surrounding areas, including crisis support, services for children and young people, community support, peer support, counselling, group activities, and training courses.
“We are delighted that Hertfordshire Mind Network has been chosen as one of the charities for the St Albans Postboxes’ Christmas 2023 appeal. Initiatives like this raise awareness and combat the stigma surrounding mental health. They ensure that those facing mental health challenges receive the support and understanding they deserve. This event will raise essential funds for local Minds in Hertfordshire, allowing us to provide support to more people struggling with their mental health during the Christmas season and the subsequent winter months.
To learn more about our services, please visit our website at www.hertfordshiremind.org
St Albans Postboxes – quick history!
Since we started, we have supported many charities, large and small. All providing support to many sections of the community:
Dec 2018 Earthworks, Counselling Foundation, Ollie Foundation
Dec 2019 Age Concern St Albans, Small Acts of Kindness
Summer 2020 covid special St Albans and District Foodbank and Open Door St Albans
Dec 2020 St Albans and District Foodbank and Open Door St Albans
Dec 2021 The ADD-vance ADHD and Autism Trust and YOUTH TALK
Dec 2022 St Albans Community Pantry and St Albans Action for the Homeless.
Dec 2023 Cancer Hair Care and Hertfordshire MIND Network
We stipulate that whoever we support must be a registered charity. They must provide evidence of this, and they must have an official charity bank account, run by Trustees. We also require the charity to be registered with a charity fundraising platform such as Just Giving or Give As You Live Donate. This means donations are made directly to the fundraising platform and split and distributed directly to the charities – no money passing through anybody else.
By changing our charities each year, we are shining a spotlight on different charities each year, and helping different charities. Each charity is different – we believe all are deserving of our support for the work they do in the local community.
We run the postboxes project for the community – and believe it’s a true community project with volunteer makers, local business sponsors and then donations, love and support from the wider community.
Of course there are 100s of causes we could support. Unfortunately, especially with a cost of living crisis, a recession and everything else going on, more people than ever need more support in all sectors.
We work hard to keep the project running as simply as possible. If you have a suggestion for a local registered charity, you are welcome to contact us, or suggest to the charity that they put themselves forward. We also welcome any help with social media and marketing, press etc.