A new campaign wants to change the way people donate

Christmas may be the most difficult time for homeless people, how can a gingerbread house in city centre help when people don’t carry cash any more?

Homeless people in Cardiff can benefit from a new charity campaign that enables people to donate through their phones in a cashless society.

A gingerbread house is built outside Cardiff Central Library as a part of the promotion of a campaign called #GingerbreadMun, with the purpose of providing people with a viable way to donate money to homeless people when they don’ t have cash with them.

“Our research shows that less than a quarter of people will carry cash over the next ten years, hence, we want to offer an alternative way for people who want to help,” said Adrian Field, the Executive Director of For Cardiff, which has worked on the #GingerbreadMun campaign with Visit Cardiff

Interactive donation points have been installed on the windows of the gingerbread house, and visitors can tap their phone on the window or scan a QR code to make an online donation to the GiveDIFFerently fund.

More importantly, the donation made through the gingerbread house will be distributed to organizations who apply for grants to assist homeless individuals instead of being given directly to the homeless people

The top line for each grant is £750, which is more likely to be spent on essentials that will aid homeless individual’s personal development plan, for example, work equipment, training fees or appropriate clothing for job interviews.

Applications will be assessed by the Community Foundation in Wales, and the proof of purchase is required after each grant is awarded, in which way may encourage more citizens to donate by convincing them the donation is providing the right support for those who need it most.

“Such a lovely and traditional gingerbread house will remind people the difficulties of people who don’t have a place to live, especially in the place with so many homeless people around,” said Anne, a passerby who find the campaign meaningful.

Meanwhile, free ginger biscuits giveaways and a variety of festive activities will take place at the house every Thursday to Sunday between 1 pm and 2 pm, starting from 1^st to 24^th December, which will attract more visitors who are willing to make contributions.

So far, the campaign has raised over £5,000, “Even if the weather is terrible recently, people still keep coming,” said Janni Duffy, promotion manager of #GingerbreadMun campaign.