How the Genesis team celebrated Christmas Jumper Day on 18 December
Christmas Jumper Day is an annual tradition, created in 2012 when Friday 14th December was declared a day for knitted wonders to be worn in order to raise awareness for the UK charity Save the Children. However this year it has teamed up with Macmillan Cancer Support and Make-A-Wish UK – to help give hope to even more families in difficulty this Christmas. Since then, the title has been allocated to specific Fridays in December every year and celebrated nationally.
In the past, the public have accepted this festive challenge with open arms and delighted in both the hilarity and meaning of the day. It is something that appeals to all, be it a school, office or simply those at home; even celebrities have promoted their own personal pullovers, leading social media with snapshots of Richard Branson and a Christmas lemur on his front or Susan Boyle wearing a tinsel scarf. With sales skyrocketing (some stores seeing a 200% increase) it is clear the Christmas Jumper is no longer an unfashionable initiator of awkward Mark Darcy moments during the holidays. Statistics also show there seems to be similarities between choice of design and profession – lawyers apparently favoring reindeers unlike those in HR who seem to prefer snowflakes! As a fun and worthy campaign, the Genesis team were not going to miss out.
At a first glance, the office appeared to be completely normal; all were at their desks tapping away at keyboards and sipping at their coffee. It was when the occasional member of the team stood up to reveal the knitted holly, sequined robins and white pompoms, previously hidden, that all began to laugh and discuss their chosen jumper. An array of fluff, sparkles and even a touch-sensitive flashing reindeer nose were worn and special mention must go to Alex and Charles for wearing the same jumper – specifically one with a large fleecy polar bear.
Now in its fourth year, the charity asked even more people across the UK to join in to help ‘make the world better with a sweater’. Save the Children has raised thousands of pounds with a total of £4 million in 2014; predicted to be increased significantly this year – no doubt helped by the Text Santa Christmas Jumper Day show on ITV.
Easy to donate and benefitting thousands, it is completely worth it. All the money raised goes towards helping the most vulnerable children both in the in the UK, but also globally. In Britain, over 3.5 million children live in poverty and many families cannot afford food, heating or basic household necessities. Globally, it is estimated that over 6.6 million children die before their fifth birthday. Disease is common, education is poor and many starve. At this time of year these children struggle to eat and keep warm; Christmas is far from magical.
