This Christmas, you gave the gift of a bed to 500 children in need. We hit our target, but the campaign is not over

At this time of year, it is especially poignant to reflect on the plight of children suffering from one particular kind of abject hardship – bed poverty. This is, after all, when the phrase “no crib for a bed” becomes ubiquitous and, sadly, for far too many youngsters the comfort of a bed of their own – or perhaps any bed at all – is not theirs to enjoy. How easily the more fortunate members of society take such a thing for granted.

So The Independent is proud to support a smaller charity dedicated to trying to do something about this social evil – Zarach. It was founded by a teacher, Bex Wilson, who witnessed at first hand the deleterious effects that lack of rest can inflict upon young, developing minds and bodies. As a deputy head at a school in Leeds, Ms Wilson found that one 11-year-old boy “wasn’t his usual happy self, so I asked if he was feeling tired. His response at that moment, not that I knew it at the time, was to change both my life and his. ‘Miss, I am always tired. I don’t have a bed.’”

No wonder Ms Wilson set about doing something about the predicament in which the boy’s family found itself, and the turnaround in the pupil’s prospects that resulted. For a relatively modest investment, priceless life chances can be restored or enhanced. It is a charitable donation that, as the phrase goes, just keeps on giving. Some £180 at Zarach can provide a bed, mattress, duvet, pillows, pyjamas, and a hygiene kit for a child in need. Families are also given a £30 supermarket voucher for a Christmas meal. The appeal is still open.

No one should be in any doubt that appeals such as this can end child poverty or anything like it. It is a sobering and depressing fact that around 900,000 children across the UK will be without a bed this Christmas, and the problem is getting worse. But what can be done is to provide a better start to the day, and indeed life, for children who would not otherwise have a chance of a good night’s sleep and a more alert and productive time at school. Our campaign can also raise the profile of bed poverty, in the way that the public is much more aware of, say, children missing their breakfasts, living in homelessness and food poverty, in fear of domestic violence, and going without toys.

Zarach is supremely practical in its work, with the minimum of bureaucracy. Schoolteachers help to identify children in their classroom who are struggling to concentrate or falling asleep. Once referred to Zarach, volunteers for the charity organise a phone call with the family, before arranging a home visit to take measurements for either a bunk bed or a single bed to be delivered. The results are monitored and have been overwhelmingly positive.

Charity, then, has its place, especially at Christmas, and even when the cost of living crisis is making it harder for many families of all kinds to make ends meet. Child poverty is a deeply political issue, and the state necessarily has the pre-eminent role in tackling social evils – but all sides can at least agree that helping children sleep in their own beds helps them make the best of their education, and that dedicated charities with experienced and knowledgeable people running them can make things better. Zarach is one such charity, and well worth supporting.