Sofia, our Responsible Business Manager, makes a gift delivery by cargo bike.

With many of us challenged by the idea of over-consumerism during the festive period, it’s easy to forget that lots of people in our community won’t unwrap a single present on Christmas morning.

Over the past decade, Team London Bridge has collected tens of thousands of gift donations for local charities to make sure that no one is forgotten on Christmas Day.

Our business community has stepped up once more this year as part of our Gift Back with Team London Bridge campaign. PwC, News UK, Hilson Moran, Womble Bond Dickinson, Anthony Gold, Grainger, Making Music, Montagu, GMO, AXS, Norton Rose Fulbright, Sapphire, Jacobs, Gowling WLG, and all of the businesses in The Shard rallied to donate a grand total of 3,141 presents.

These will benefit a wide range of local charities who work with those experiencing homelessness, the elderly, young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and those who struggle with mental health issues. Our partners at Bede House, Time & Talents, Riverside Parents and Carers Association, Stones End Day Centre, South London Cares, and Manna have distributed your donations, helping put a smile on thousands of faces this Christmas.

In addition, 1,960 books were donated to the charities by HarperCollins, as well as to local schools and the Met Police’s Christmas appeal.

Our businesses did so well that we were able to send over 400 extra gift donations to the Southwark Met Police team, who will distribute them further across the borough. Special thanks to PC Nigel Pearce and his colleagues for coordinating this.

With staff working remotely, logistics provided a different kind of challenge this year. We gave people the choice of donating online, setting up a collection in their office (some did a mini volunteering session to deliver them pre-wrapped!), or anything in between.

Our friends at Sapphire found a way that worked best for them, donating £250 to Manna towards Oyster Cards, as well as three of their staff volunteering with Time & Talents and donating some pre-used phones and laptops to the charities. And the team at Co-Star donned their best Santa outfits and took part in South London Cares 5k fundraiser, successfully raising £1,810 for the charity.

All gifts donated were sent to the charities by cargo bike, setting Santa a good example of how sustainable freight can work!

The children on parade with the Mayor of Southwark

Gift Back 2021 culminated in our annual lantern parade. The children of Snowsfields, Tower Bridge and Robert Browning primary schools made their way along the riverside via Potters Fields Park, Hay’s Galleria and London Bridge station on 9th December. Made from sustainable materials, their Christmas themed paper lanterns delighted passers-by as the spectacle wound its way through the area.

The Gift of Gifting Back