Wigan influencer couple launch ‘Giftmas Tree’ campaign for families struggling at Christmas

A couple from Wigan have launched a new campaign to ensure every child in Greater Manchester has a tree in their home so they can enjoy the magic of Christmas.

Martin Clarke and Rebecca Kane, a prankster influencer couple known as Martin and Bex, have made it their mission to ensure that no child misses out on festive cheer by having to go without a tree in their home this Christmas.

The pair have a following of over six million across social media platforms.

Dubbed ‘Giftmas Tree’, they came up with the idea for the initiative after one of their own children mentioned that someone at school could not afford a tree this year.

The cause is designed to not cost a penny to anyone who wishes to help, asking people to simply donate their unwanted Christmas trees to families who are struggling via the free to use site, Gumtree

Speaking to Wigan Today, Martin said: “We were made very aware of how difficult Christmas is going to be for some people this year, and whilst there are lots of amazing food and gift donation programmes around (which will be a massive help to all in need) we also know how important the magic of Christmas is.

“A Christmas tree is king in creating atmosphere and spreading a little sparkle in people’s homes during the season.

“We found two artificial trees in our loft which won’t be used and thought, ‘how can we make sure that people who need it get them?’

“That’s when we thought of Gumtree. You can sign up, post and collect items free of charge on the site, and it has regional search terms which means you won’t have to go far to pick up a donated tree. For us it was a no brainer.”

The pair have also reached out to a number of Christmas tree companies across Greater Manchester to encourage them to donate a tree, as well as members of the public.

The rehoming of unwanted Christmas trees is also a great way of preventing unnecessary added waste to the environment as well as spreading some festive joy around the homes of those less fortunate.

Bex told the news publication: “We want to spread the word and ask anyone with a spare tree – perhaps you might be buying a real one this year or have bought a bigger one this year – to put their unwanted trees on the site so we can help those who have no decorations in their homes feel more festive.

“We also just want to be really clear that this isn’t a paid brand campaign or anything like that: this is our idea. We want to help. It’s just that Gumtree is genuinely the easiest, quickest and totally free way to connect communities for something like this.”

If you would like to donate your artificial Christmas tree to the cause, you can grab the Giftmas Tree logo from Martin and Bex’s Instagram account @martinandbexofficial and upload it for free on Gumtree HERE.