This is how your parcel helps

As many as 702 000 people live in poverty in Switzerland. A single person living below the poverty line has to get by on less than CHF 2300 a month. A two-parent family with two children has less than CHF 4000 to live on.

The 2 x Christmas campaign provides aid for people in Switzerland either directly or through other institutions. The basic necessities collected are distributed through the various SRC cantonal associations throughout the country. For example, in early March 2024, the Thurgau Red Cross distributed goods donated to the campaign in Frauenfeld.

Planet 13 and «2 x Christmas»

Planet 13 is one of the institutions supported by the 2 x Christmas campaign. The self-help project was developed by people living in poverty to help other people living in poverty or at risk. Planet 13 is an internet café in Basel where people from a broad variety of backgrounds and cultures can meet up and use online services free of charge.

On the principle of ‘helping people to help themselves’, the café’s customers have access to the internet, can print and scan documents, receive help writing job applications or filling in forms, and can obtain legal advice on social welfare law. On certain days, they can take job application photos or create or design websites. This gives the target group the opportunity to learn new skills and take care of everyday matters for themselves, but also exchange ideas with other people in a protected environment.

Every year, the Basel-Stadt Red Cross donates parcels from the «2 x Christmas» campaign to Planet 13. The goods are then distributed to people in need at the internet café, bringing some joy into their lives.

Other links

National antipoverty platform

Current figures and definitions of poverty from the Federal Statistical Office

Compilation of up-to-date studies and news from the SKOS/CSIAS on various topics related to social assistance/poverty, such as training, work, housing and social benefits

UN Sustainable Development Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere

Online parcel donations help people living in poverty in Armenia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are especially precious during the winter months. The Red Cross helps people who are particularly affected by the cold and living in precarious circumstances. They receive food parcels, hot meals or financial support so that they can afford to buy firewood and medicines.