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Challenge Accepted: Celebrating your achievements

12 Jan 2026

Thank you for supporting our Challenge Accepted campaign through the Manchester Christmas Dinner and a coat appeal organised by the University of Manchester Staff Association (UMSA).

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Challenge Accepted: your generosity in action

Manchester Christmas Dinner

Our Challenge Accepted campaign celebrates the power of collective generosity, which was demonstrated by everyone who helped make Christmas 2025 a truly special experience for young care leavers across Greater Manchester.

Whether you contributed to the fundraising appeal, bought a gift from the Amazon Gift List, took part in the raffle, helped to prepare the venue and wrap gifts, or hosted our 50 guests at Woolton Hall on Christmas Day, we couldn’t have done it without you: THANK YOU!

With an initial fundraising target of £3,000, our University community rose to the challenge and raised more than £6,000 – thanks to your online donations, plus funds raised from our raffle. These funds ensured we could provide:

A handmade quilted blanket from Quilts for Care Leavers, given to all new guests (those who haven’t attended in previous years) so they can always “wrap themselves in a warm hug”

Alongside the Christmas dinner itself, there was entertainment for our guests throughout the afternoon with stand-up comedy, karaoke, a magician, crafting activities, and other games. A big thank you again to all that provided and supported these activities.

Raffle winners

A full list of raffle winners and prizes can be found in our dedicated document.

UMSA’s Coats Appeal

As well as the incredible support for the Christmas Dinner, our community also came together for a coats appeal organised by UMSA in support of Human Appeal, a charity who help to distribute warm clothing to people in the local community facing hardship.

Thanks again to your generosity, an amazing 190 coats were donated for both adults and children.

See the impact of your generosity

Watch the film below to see how the Manchester Christmas Dinner came together and most importantly, hear from some of our guests on what the day meant to them.

While it is just the start of 2026, if you would like to get involved with this year’s Christmas Dinner the Steering Group will be reconvening in the early autumn to start their planning, so watch out for more information later in the year.