A NEWPORT woman is giving up her own Christmas day with her family to support a charity.

Sam Rutledge has chosen to give up her Christmas to help the charity CHICKS, which provides disadvantaged children from across the UK with free week-long respite breaks, on their Christmas break.

Ms Rutledge, 46, first volunteered at CHICKS earlier this year at the charity’s retreat in Devon. For many of the children, a CHICKS break is the first holiday they’ve ever known and they are able to experience new activities such as visiting the seaside and riding a horse.

On the Christmas breaks, along with the usual activities, the children will have a traditional Christmas dinner, visit the pantomime, wake up to stockings from Santa and generally experience the fun and excitement of Christmas.

The children CHICKS supports are aged between eight and 15 and come from a range of disadvantaged backgrounds including living in poverty, suffering abuse and acting as young carers for sick or disabled relatives, which mean they often miss out on positive childhood experiences.

She said: “From my experience on the break earlier this year, I know the volunteers made a difference and I was proud to be part of that week. Seeing young people enjoy and develop a variety of skills in a short space of time meant me and other volunteers made a difference.

"The young people who visit CHICKS at Christmas will have a positive experience and new memories they can cherish and take with them into adulthood.”

The chief executive at CHICKS, Elanor Hoskin, said: “At a time when people bemoan the commercialisation of Christmas and say that it has lost its true meaning, Sam is an inspiration and we’re so grateful to her for giving up Christmas with her own family in order to help disadvantaged children make magical childhood memories.

“Volunteers are really at the heart of CHICKS, and we need over 500 each year to provide our much-needed respite breaks, so we really hope that the dedication of our Christmas volunteers will inspire others to get involved.”

For more information visit www.chicks.org.uk