A DIGITAL marketing agency is doing something just that little bit different to help families in need at Christmas.

ThoughtShift has launched a Reverse Advent Calendar Charity Challenge with the idea that people put one item aside to donate per day throughout December and then donate that collection of items to the charity by Christmas.

The company in Montpelier Road, Brighton, aims to raise awareness of the Whitehawk Foodbank and the 1,109,309 people in crisis who needed emergency food supplies from across the country in the last 12 months

Foodbanks have become more common in recent years as more families struggle to make ends meet.

They are a place where stocks of food, typically basic provisions and non-perishable items, are supplied free of charge to people in need, and they are spread across Sussex.

The Whitehawk project was launched last year and it is hoped the new project will help provide people in Brighton with essential food and household supplies over the Christmas period.

The ThoughtShift team will be collecting food and household items throughout December.

They will then be nominating others to join in the challenge with them to increase the impact of these important donations at Christmas.

Helen Trendell, MD at ThoughtShift, said it is important to the company and its staff to support such a worthy cause.

She said: "The challenge is part of our commitment to partner and fundraise for a range of charities local to Brighton and Hove.

" Tom Ward has been appointed as our new charity ambassador and this kind of project is the result of the collective action of our 20-strong team."

Donations can be given in three ways

Food donations can be dropped into the ThoughtShift offices on the third floor of Montpelier House, 99 Montpelier Road, Brighton

They can be taken to the Whitehawk Foodbank, St Cuthmans Church, Whitehawk Way, Whitehawk, or financial contributions can be made online at givey.com/whfoodbank

All donations will be given to the foodbank by December 23.

The foodbank needs donations such as tinned vegetables, tinned meat, tinned fish and UHT milk to provide people with nutritionally balanced meals for three days.

Household supplies such as nappies, baby food and razors are also needed.