This Christmas, Yorkshire Children's Charity has received applications to provide Christmas presents for 3,235 children who may otherwise wake up on Christmas morning with nothing to unwrap.
That is a 62% increase on the number of children we supported last year, and behind every application is a family facing circumstances that no parent would ever choose for their child.
When I see those figures, I think about the children who might spend Christmas wondering why Father Christmas has remembered their friends but not them. I think about the parents who know exactly what would make their children happy but simply cannot afford to buy it, however much they wish they could.
I also think about the difficult decisions these families are making long before Christmas arrives.
I know that the rising cost of living has affected families across Yorkshire. Energy bills, food shopping and everyday household expenses are putting pressure on budgets, and many parents are understandably worried about how they will afford Christmas.
But there is an enormous difference between having to cut back on Christmas spending and living in the kind of poverty where even the most basic things your children need are beyond your reach.
Through our work at Yorkshire Children's Charity, and from the teachers who refer children to us, we hear about families facing circumstances that many people would struggle to imagine. We know of children sleeping in their coats because their families cannot afford adequate bedding, and siblings having to share shoes because there simply isn't enough money for a pair each.
This is what severe poverty can look like in Yorkshire today, and it's a very different reality from having to cut back on Christmas spending.
The increase in applications is deeply concerning. Although there is no single explanation for why more children are being referred to us, we know that financial pressures are affecting families across the county. What is certain is that more children are turning to us for support this Christmas than ever before.
I wish more people understood that many of the parents we support are working. They are getting up every morning, doing their jobs, looking after their children and trying their absolute hardest to keep everything together. Some are caring for children with disabilities or additional needs, which can bring financial pressures and practical challenges that most of us never have to consider.
These are ordinary Yorkshire families who have found themselves in extraordinarily difficult circumstances. They have not chosen to live this way, and they love their children every bit as much as any other parent.
That is particularly important to remember at Christmas, when so much of the joy for parents comes from seeing their children happy.
Most of us know the excitement of watching a child open something they have been hoping for. It might be a toy they have talked about for weeks; something connected to their favourite hobby or a present they have carefully written on their Christmas list.
For the families we support, even that simple pleasure can feel completely out of reach. The thought of their child returning to school in January with no happy Christmas memories to share is another worry on top of everything else they are facing.
This is why we have launched Yorkshire Together, our Christmas campaign to raise £194,100 so that we can fulfil the Christmas wish lists of every child referred to us for support.
Our approach is deliberately personal because we believe every child deserves to feel special at Christmas, regardless of their family's circumstances.
Children are referred to us by schools, social workers and other trusted professionals who understand their circumstances. We ask parents and carers what their children would genuinely like, and we purchase those presents, allocating £60 to each child.
The gifts are then passed back to families, who can wrap them and put them under the tree themselves. The children don't need to know where the presents came from or feel different from their friends because their family has needed help from a charity. They can simply enjoy Christmas morning, while their parents experience the happiness of watching them open something they have wished for.
This matters enormously to me because, when a family is living in severe poverty, so many of the choices most of us take for granted have already been taken away.
I know a Christmas present cannot fix poverty. It cannot pay the bills, resolve the pressures of caring for a disabled child or make all the difficulties a family is facing disappear. But childhood is made up of experiences and memories, and children who are already going without so much should not have to miss out on the excitement of Christmas as well.
I am incredibly proud to call Yorkshire home. We are a county with a strong sense of identity, where people care about their communities and where, when things get difficult, we have a long tradition of looking out for one another.
I have seen Yorkshire people achieve remarkable things when they come together for a cause they believe in, and I believe we can do that again.
We have already seen an extraordinary response from people offering to help prepare the presents, with all our picking and packing volunteer places now filled. That generosity says a great deal about the people of Yorkshire, and now we need to turn that goodwill into the donations that will allow us to buy the gifts in the first place.
I appreciate that not everyone can afford to give £60, and I would never want anyone to feel that a smaller donation isn't worthwhile. If you can spare £5, £10 or £20, it will be combined with other contributions to help fulfil a child's wish list.
If you run a business, perhaps your team could fundraise together. If you have friends or family who might want to help, please tell them about Yorkshire Together. And if you can support us with deliveries across the county, we would love to hear from you, because there are so many ways to make a difference.
What I am asking is that we all do whatever we reasonably can.
These children live in our communities, go to our schools and grow up in the same towns and villages as our own families. Their parents work alongside us, and their circumstances could be very different from ours for reasons entirely beyond their control.
I would love to reach Christmas knowing that every child referred to us has a present waiting for them, chosen with care, wrapped by someone who loves them and ready to open on Christmas morning.
The families won't know who donated, and the children won't know who helped. There won't be a thank you card or a photograph of the moment you made possible, but somewhere in Yorkshire, a child will wake up on Christmas morning and find that Father Christmas has remembered them.
I cannot think of a better reason for us to come together as a county.
Please support Yorkshire Together this Christmas. Whether you can give a little or a lot, you can help us make sure these children are not forgotten.
#YorkshireTogetherThisChristmas
