phs Group swaps Secret Santa for gifts for children living in refuge

phs Group has ditched the traditional ‘Secret Santa’ and teamed up with the charity KidsOut to buy gifts for children living in refuge this Christmas.

The organisation, which is the UK’s leading hygiene services provider, has created four ‘Giving Trees’ at its sites across the UK. Each Christmas tree is decorated with tags containing the name and age of a local child who is living in refuge and may otherwise not have a gift at Christmas. Employees from phs choose a tag, buy a gift suitable for the recipient and place it under the tree to be delivered to the child by KidsOut in time for Christmas.

KidsOut created the Giving Tree initiative to support children who have escaped domestic violence and been forced to flee their homes quickly, leaving all possessions behind.

phs has over 3,000 employees and four Giving Trees at its sites in Caerphilly, Golborne, Tamworth and Birch Coppice. For those working in the field or from home, there is also an online Giving Tree, allowing employees to purchase gifts online to be delivered straight to the child.

The four Christmas trees were gifted by phs Greenleaf, part of the phs Group, which supplies pre-decorated Christmas trees to businesses and organisations across the UK.

Mike Winstone, Group HR Director, said: “Everyone in phs is really proud to say that they are part of the KidsOut Giving Tree initiative this year. It’s a fantastic charity with a very worthy mission – to make kids happy.

“We know that everyone will get involved to help make Christmas magical for a child who may otherwise go without. These are local children who have been forced to flee their home for their own safety, so we hope that our gifts go some way to putting a smile on their face on Christmas morning.”