Building hope: SSAFA and construction firm team up for veterans’ Christmas hamper drive

16 December 2025

Festive excitement is building for families across the city, but for many veterans Christmas can be a lonely time.

To combat seasonal isolation and spread festive cheer, SSAFA’s Glasgow’s Helping Heroes is on a mission to deliver a Christmas gift to members of the Armed Forces family who may not otherwise receive a present this year.

Glasgow’s Helping Heroes (GHH) exists to help Armed Forces personnel, veterans, and their families with almost any issue: from housing and health to financial and employability support. A partnership between SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity and Glasgow City Council, the support hub makes sure people in need never battle alone.

With help from staff at construction firm GRAHAM, for whom GHH is their charity partner for 2025, the team are preparing special Christmas gift bags to distribute to some of their most vulnerable beneficiaries.

Katharine Hunt, Operations Manager at SSAFA’s Glasgow’s Helping Heroes, explained: “Christmas can be a particularly difficult time for people and families in the Armed Forces community. We have people come to us who have lost loved ones, have family members who are deployed, are living away from their support network, or are facing physical and mental health challenges.

“Receiving a Christmas hamper is a small gesture that can mean the world to someone who is vulnerable or alone. It’s a means of accessing basic supplies for those who may not otherwise be able to – but it’s also a reminder that someone is thinking of them and there is support available to them when they need it.”

Each Christmas gift bag contains a fluffy blanket, a Christmas mug, hot chocolate with marshmallows, a 2026 calendar and diary, and a SSAFA Christmas decoration – while families with children will also receive a toy bundle thanks to generous donations from GRAHAM staff across Scotland and Northern Ireland.

GRAHAM has been actively supporting GHH for the past year and colleagues visited the Govan support hub to help prepare and wrap the Christmas gift bags. They also presented a generous £10,000 cheque which will be used to support service users experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Chris MacLeod, Regional Director, GRAHAM Building North, said: “It has been a pleasure to partner with SSAFA’s Glasgow’s Helping Heroes to bring festive cheer to the Armed Forces community and their families. With many of our colleagues having military backgrounds, this cause resonates deeply with our values as a company. We look forward to continuing our collaboration in the months ahead, working together to provide meaningful support to those who need it most.”