Give up the price of a coffee to help homeless families this Christmas

What could you buy with a fiver?

Probably not a whole lot. A large coffee? Half of a burrito? An extremely watered down cocktail in a Dublin bar? A fiver won't get you a whole lot these days, but it could make all the difference to those who are struggling to make ends meet in their homes this Christmas. Or those who don't have a home to go to at all. An initiative created to raise funds for St Vincent de Paul, the #5GiveaFiver campaign, is back this year for its second year of raising money for homeless families in the run-up to Christmas. The idea behind the campaign is simple: Donate €5 to St Vincent de Paul, share your support on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook using the #5GiveaFiver hashtag, and then nominate five other friends to get involved. According to figures released earlier this year, 8,347 people are currently homeless in the country. Similarly, over 1,000 families are homeless in Dublin alone, with the rate of children in emergency accommodation across the country being the highest ever recorded. Director of the #5GiveaFiver campaign, Sarah Dunne, says that although donating a fiver won't end homelessness, it will make a difference to those struggling this Christmas.

"The homeless crisis is getting worse, and it's hard to see how or when it can end. Giving up a fiver won't end homelessness but it will make a difference, we proved this last year.

"Last year members of the public were exceptionally supportive, raising almost €3,000 in under 24 hours. We need to talk about homelessness and take action. Homelessness is not normal."

"We wanted to do something transparent and simple and most importantly we wanted to ensure 100 percent of donations were going straight to the charity.

"The money that is donated to SVP isn’t just for Christmas, they help year-round in more ways than you can imagine.”

This year's target for #5GiveaFiver is €10,000.  Almost €1,750 has already been raised through the #5GiveaFiver campaign. The deadline for donations is New Year's Eve - you can donate to the campaign here.