Preseli Pembrokeshire MS Paul Davies was one of the Senedd Members joining parents supported by Save the Children Cymru at a recent event at the Senedd to celebrate the charity’s annual Christmas Jumper Day.

Since launching in 2012, Christmas Jumper Day has raised over £37 million to help transform the lives of children around the world. The money raised supports children in Wales, the UK and around the world to stay safe, healthy and learning.

Members of the Senedd led by example by getting ‘knitted-up in their favourite festive woolly wonders before getting creative with their colleagues, Save the Children staff and parents supported by the charity. Together they crafted their own bespoke Christmas jumpers to urge the nation to celebrate Christmas Jumper Day as sustainably as possible, by giving an old jumper a new lease of life.

The event, which was sponsored by Jayne Bryant, Member of Senedd for Newport West, was hosted ahead of the official Christmas Jumper Day which takes place on Thursday, December 12.

Parent Jolene Martin, one of the founding members of parents group ‘Voices For Bettws’ and also a Project Officer for Save the Children Cymru said: “This year has been far from easy for families living on the lowest incomes in Wales, we’ve been hearing from families living in our community in Bettws how it is still a struggle to pay for essentials such as food and clothes, many face the extra stress of managing the burden of debt, especially now before Christmas. This inevitably impacts the mental health of the whole family, this is something we as a group of parents feel strongly about and want politicians to do more to address.

“It’s been great being able to chat to Members of the Senedd about our concerns, and what we have been doing whilst crafting Christmas jumpers at the same time!”

Melanie Simmonds, Head of Wales Save the Children Cymru, added: “We’re extremely grateful to the Welsh public, schools, businesses and politicians who have been supporting Christmas Jumper Day for well over a decade and we hope people in all corners of Wales will join us again this year by wearing a novelty knit on Thursday 12th December to raise vital funds for children around the world. Through our work here in Wales we are able to support children by working in partnership with others within communities, listening to the latest evidence, and most importantly listening to the voices of children and families. A little festive spirit goes a long way to help others.”

Donating £2 or whatever people can afford can truly help to make a difference:

For more information and to sign up, visit - christmasjumperday.org .