Backpacks for Christmas.
Help us fill 20 backpacks with warm clothes and essentials for people sleeping rough in London this Christmas.
Why we’re doing this.
Supporting The Connection’s Christmas gift bag programme.
This Christmas, the Proctimise team is supporting The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields, which works with people sleeping rough in central London, helping them off the streets and towards somewhere to call home.
We’ve volunteered to fill 20 backpacks with cold-weather essentials. We can’t do it alone, so we’re asking our friends, clients and partners to chip in – with items, vouchers or a donation.
people died while homeless in the UK in 2025 – more than four every day.
Source: Museum of Homelessness, Dying Homeless Project 2026What goes in each backpack.
The Connection’s checklist – 14 winter essentials.
New items only, please. Get in touch and we’ll share sizes and what we still need.
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- Pack of underwear
- Pack of socks
- T-shirt or base layer
- Joggers
- Jumper or fleece
- Gloves and scarf
- Waterproof rain poncho
- Hand warmers
- Hairbrush
- Nail clippers
- Lip balm
- £5 coffee shop voucher
- £10 grocery voucher
- Lunchbox with cutlery
How you can help.
Three easy ways to get involved.
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Send items
Could your company donate 20 of one item – socks, gloves, lip balm? Tell us what you can give and we’ll send our address.
Send vouchers
Coffee shop and grocery vouchers go straight into the backpacks for a hot drink or a proper meal over Christmas. Or send us a gift card for a UK shop and we’ll use it to buy whatever’s still missing.
Give money
Donate straight to The Connection. £5 could provide a meal for two people; £25 could fund an hour of a caseworker’s time.
Donate to The Connection →How it works.
From your desk to The Connection by mid-December.
You give
Send items or vouchers to the Proctimise team by Friday 4 December, or donate directly to The Connection.
We pack
On 10 December our team fills 20 purpose-built backpacks, donated to The Connection by CITYPAK.
We deliver
We hand-deliver every backpack to The Connection’s centre near Charing Cross in mid-December, ready for Christmas.
Every contributor gets a proper thank-you – and, with your OK, a shout-out when we share the finished backpacks on LinkedIn.
About The Connection at St Martin’s.
A London homelessness charity working to end rough sleeping. Through its centre by Trafalgar Square it offers hot meals, health support, help into work and caseworkers who stay with people every step of the way.
connection-at-stmartins.org.uk →Can you help fill a backpack?
Drop us a line with what you’d like to give and we’ll take it from there.
Get in touch