Hanging stockings by the fire, carol singing, making mince pies… Many of us take such family traditions for granted, so busily wrapped up in the Christmas countdown that we often forget that this time of year can be desperately hard for so many.  

‘Christmas can be a real reminder that you don’t – or didn’t – enjoy all the love that comes with family celebrations,’ says Imran Hussain, Director of Policy & Campaigns at Action for Children: ‘We try to make Christmas as special as we can for children in care, but it can be difficult, particularly in a cost of living crisis.’ 

With a child entering care in the UK every 15 minutes, John Lewis is on a mission through our Building Happier Futures programme to help rewrite the many disadvantages and inequalities faced by those in care – starting with Christmas – and shining a light on the voices, like Yvonne and Briggit’s (below) – whose stories are all too often overlooked.

Created to help harness the talent of those who have grown up in care, the Building Happier Futures programme is John Lewis’ long term commitment to young people, supporting the care-experienced through those crucial life moments with a view to becoming the employer of choice for care-experienced children.

Forming two new charity partnerships – with Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland – John Lewis will be assisting their fundraising efforts to benefit care-experienced young people with emotional and practical support. ‘There’s real potential to change lives – and change minds,’ says Imran Hussain – ‘helping care leavers to build their identity, their career, their family.

This Christmas John Lewis has donated food and gifts, taken children and their carers to meet Father Christmas at Santa’s Grotto, and will be refurbishing care homes with John Lewis furnishings. And there’s so much more to come.

‘We plan to launch dedicated apprenticeships for care leavers and offer financial support for young people who have been in care to pursue further or higher education,’ reveals Ceira Thom, John Lewis’ Head of Learning. 

At the age of seven, Briggit came to London from Ghana, with her dad and her teenage sister. The two girls were left with their parent’s friend, who had no legal responsibility for them, and they never heard from their dad again. They were soon placed in care and lived with a foster carer who Briggit, now 28, describes as an “amazing lady” she is still in touch with.

Yvonne was matched with Briggit through Action for Children’s Independent Visitor scheme – a service which connects children in care with an adult volunteer, giving them the opportunity to build a trusting and supportive relationship through regular contact. For their first trip together, Yvonne took Briggit to the Science Museum, and the pair hit it off right away. 

Briggit explains: ‘There was going to be an astronaut doing a talk on the day, and I was so excited for it. At the end he asked people to come up to get their books signed and Yvonne encouraged me to go up. From our initial meeting, there was something very motherly about her that I liked, and it’s been like that ever since.’

Now, 19 years since that first trip, Yvonne and Briggit have an unbreakable bond, something which they both describe as a ‘mother and daughter’ type of relationship. ‘Yvonne has been that mother figure for me ever since I first got to know her,’ says Briggit. ‘She’s supported me all the way through, and I feel truly blessed, because a lot of people in my situation don’t get that.’ 

‘We’re mindful that it’s a busy time and the cost of living crisis means that not everyone has money to give to charity,’ says Charlotte Lock, John Lewis Pan-Partnership Customer Director. ‘All we ask is that everyone has a conversation about this often invisible and neglected community and raises awareness of the opportunities they deserve.’

Here are a few ways we can all help: 

• Listen
• Advocate
• Understand the impact of trauma on behaviour
• Build self-esteem and creating opportunities
• Support regulation to stay in control
• Support earlier in a teenager’s years, to help them understand their potential, through things like work experience schemes whilst in school, interview preparations, and career discussions for 14-16 year olds
• Showcase examples of people who have been along that path, achievements they have made, and be open to discuss how they navigated this
• Share personal experiences with key stakeholders in the business to inform decisions using live experiences, to create connections with the care community
  

Want to do more? Meet John Lewis’ now iconic teddy bear, Lewis (a direct descendent of the first John Lewis bear, made in 1923). This year Lewis Bear hasn’t just bagged a sneaky cameo in John Lewis’ Christmas ad, he’s got a much more important role to play! 25% of all sales of the Lewis Bear collection will be donated to our Building Happier Futures fund to help Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland. Plus, by shopping for selected products, you're helping support care-experienced young people.