The Shoebox Fairies are an independent UK charity based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. We have no religious affiliations and our volunteers and donors may come from different beliefs and background - united by their vision to help relieve poverty and bring joy to those who need it most. 

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It is our goal to help tackle poverty at a local level. Data from the Social Metrics Commission (SMC) in 2017/2018 showed that 14.3 million people in the UK are living in poverty. This is based on the definition of poverty that a family earns less than 60% of the median income (including any state benefits) for their "family type"subtracting housing costs .

 

Approximately 34% of children are living in poverty in the UK according to the SMC and 30% of single parent households are also living in poverty. Increasingly working age adults in poverty are likely to be in working families and these statistics are rising with 56% people living in poverty in a household where at least one person had a job, compared with 39% 20 years ago.

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Although our Christmas Shoebox Appeal is by far our biggest campaign, our smaller projects which run throughout the year are equally important in helping support those in vulnerable groups.