Good uses for that giving feeling

Looking after people in need. That's what Christmas is all about, we remind ourselves, in the midst of the stress-driven commercialism. But although most charities are busy at Christmas, what they really want are people who are prepared to make their misty-eyed Christmas altruism last all year round - by either volunteering their services for a block of time every week, or making a monthly direct debit arrangement with their bank.

Each Irish charity has a different wish list for the extra funds and goodwill generated by the Celtic Tiger at Christmas. The following is a selection of ways the charities would like to see that giving feeling put into practice.

Children

`We'd like to see children in distress as the most worthy recipients of people's generosity this Christmas," says Paul Gilligan, chief executive of the ISPCC. He recommends being aware of parents under pressure this Christmas and the importance of "trying to help in a small way". The ISPCC has a Handprint Appeal at the Avondale Children's Way in Wicklow to raise funds for its parenting skills educational projects planned for next year.

"This is a millennium pathway with palm prints of children from 1,000 Irish families. The cost is £500, and up to four children's names can go on one slab."

Our level of child poverty is the second worst (after Britain) in the EU, says Owen Keenan, chief executive of Barnardos. `How can we square that with the Celtic Tiger economy?" he asks. Barnardos needs volunteers year-round for its shops, and to work on its child-care projects.

The Homeless

`Focus Ireland needs more volunteers and financial help," says Sister Stanislaus Kennedy. "We'll need over £1 million next year." Donations are welcome any time, but especially at Christmas: "We would like to see people give, not from their superfluity, but from their substance; to do without so those who have nothing can have something." The national director of the Simon Community, Conal MacRiocaird, says: "Offers of help at Christmas are not much use to us - we have Christmas in hand at this stage - but we need volunteers to help us with our work throughout the year. We need people to work for a couple of hours a week in our shelters and longstay houses. We also need volunteers for our nightly soup-runs in Dublin and Cork, and to run our shops in Dublin, Dundalk, Cork and Galway." Simon also has a stall in the Dublin Craft Fair, (from December 15th) at the RDS, where people can buy stained-glass and wooden crafts made by participants in Simon's Settlement and Training Project.

Third World

Oxfam is looking for volunteers to man its first secondhand bookshop which has just opened on Parliament Street in Dublin. Buying Christmas cards and fair-trade crafts from Oxfam's 34 shops around the country would also help. Aideen Friel, communications manager at Oxfam, adds that a recent Oxfam mailshot has requested monthly direct debit arrangements: "A once-off donation is good, but we prefer something regular."

Concern hopes that its Christmas Fast last week will have raised £50,000 for "the 10 million people in Africa who will go hungry this Christmas," says Eithne Healy, PR of Concern. The organisation is also selling one million gold stars at £1 each: "We want to provide seeds and tools and medicines in Angola, Ethiopia, Southern Sudan and Somalia." Concern also recruits nurses, engineers, teachers and accountants for two-year stints of overseas work.

Low income

The Knights of St Columbanus need help with transport for their annual Christmas Day dinner, this year in the RDS. "We need drivers at the RDS from 12.30 p.m. to bring people to their destinations once the dinner is over," says chief executive Paddy Shortall. The Knights and their sons take care of most of the work involved, but "we never say no to cash donations," he adds. "Oh, and a big city-centre location with cooking facilities that can accommodate 500 would be very handy" - for next year.

The national secretary of the St Vincent de Paul, Columba Faulkner, says: "The most useful gift we can get this Christmas is money." The money will go towards the SVP's many ongoing projects, including hostels and sheltered housing.

You can also help the SVP now by buying gifts and bringing them to special SVP collection points at various supermarkets. Some of these, including Marks & Spencer, have SVP Christmas trees. "You take a tag off the tree and it will have the name of a child with his or her age and wish for Christmas. You can buy the gift for that particular child, which is a nice, personal way to contribute," adds Faulkner.

The SVP is always looking for new members to visit families, work in a hospital, prison or youth club, or in one of the SVP's 12 hostels for the homeless.

Refugees

`We would simply like to join the Christmas celebrations and be accepted," says John Tambwe, secretary of the African Refugee Network. "We encounter a lot of racism and we would appreciate it if the Irish would understand our plight and help us to assimilate into Irish society." The network is looking for donations of toys and food for its children's Christmas party, also warm clothes. Volunteer teachers of English are also needed.

The Elderly

`We always need donations of clothes and bric-a-brac to keep our shops going," says Tom McGuirk of Age Action Ireland. Volunteers are needed to man the shops, and also for various projects such as reminiscence therapy in day-care centres. People can help the elderly by simply being a good neighbour: "Not because of pangs of conscience at Christmas, but 52 weeks of the year. If you can spare a thought at Christmas, you can certainly do it throughout the year."

"Willie Bermingham used to call it `Rent a Granny for Christmas'," says Harry Shiell, administrator of ALONE, of the once-a-year urge to plonk a hitherto unknown elderly person at your Christmas dinner table, never to see them again once the meal is over. "Ninety per cent of the problems of the elderly stem from loneliness," adds Shiell. "Loneliness leads to depression, which leads to self-neglect. It's very simple and rewarding to offer year-round companionship, calling in on an old person on a regular basis to enjoy their stories and reminiscences."

Ill-health

The Irish Cancer Society would like to see people giving up smoking in the new year, says its spokesman Don Delaney. "Smoking is responsible for 90 per cent of cases of lung cancer in Ireland, and one person dies of lung cancer every six hours." A special Christmas contribution to the cause of the ICS could be as simple as helping someone with their travel arrangements if they have to travel for radiotherapy, which is only available in Dublin or Cork. Delaney also suggests as Christmas presents tickets (£100) for the gala preview on February 21st of Martin McDonagh's Tony-award-winning Beauty Queen of Leenane, when it returns to Dublin for a run at the Gaiety Theatre.

The Irish Hospice Foundation asks people to buy the Whoseday Book (£30) as a Christmas gift.

This special diary for the year 2000 features contributions from a variety of Irish writers and artists. Proceeds go towards the development of a National Centre for Hospice and Bereavement Studies. Clare Goddard, chief executive of the IHF, says that volunteers who are prepared to make "a serious ongoing commitment" are also needed.

Operation Rudolph, to raise funds for mental health charity AWARE and the ISPCC, kicks off on Wednesday, with 23 journalists and broadcasters - dressed as Santas - cycling the 208 miles from Dublin to Cork over four days. Donations are welcome at the Ulster Bank and volunteers are needed to collect along the cycle route and for various other support activities. Ian McKeever of AWARE says the aim is to raise £50,000: "Part of the money will go towards making the AWARE helpline a 24-hour service, seven days a week, and to building up support facilities in Cork, Kerry and Donegal."

Women at Risk

`For women living with violence and poverty, the pressure increases at Christmas," says Denise Charlton, director of Women's Aid. "Women tend to endure the abuse and violence for the sake of the kids, but once Christmas Day is over, they look for help." The helpline is manned by staff and trained volunteers. Extra volunteers are needed, who are willing to be trained and ready to commit four hours a week. The demand is particularly high for volunteers at Christmas, because so many people want to take time off over the holiday period. The helpline is in operation every day, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Another way to help is by contributing clothes to Women's Aid's three second-hand clothes shops. Volunteers are also needed for these shops.

Animals

`We're always in need of money, obviously, but it would reduce our costs if people were more caring towards their animals and thought about the long-term commitment involved," says Ciaran O'Donovan of the ISPCA. People still buy puppies at Christmas without considering who will look after the animal. "The number of unwanted dogs put down each year in dog pounds alone is 25,000."

Cash donations are needed for Ireland's first national animal sanctuary: "We are in the final stages of negotiating an 80-acre animal sanctuary in Longford, which will cost half a million pounds."

Environment

`Grow a tree, don't buy it and dump it," says Tonia McMahon of Earthwatch. She asks the public "to buy sustainable, clean products as Christmas gifts, preferably with the minimum of packaging". Earthwatch is in need of donations, "not just for our campaigns but so we can pay people properly to stay in the environmental movement," adds McMahon.