Spreading Joy This Season in South Leeds: Champions Community partner with Scent Salim for Local Children

This winter season, partners brought smiles and warmth to the community by gifting 120 beautifully curated gift bags to children. Each bag was thoughtfully packed by Scent Salim with perfume and scents, sweet treats, and books from the BookTrust – a perfect blend of joy, learning, and fragrance.

Champions Community Sport & Health CIC is a community-driven project in South Leeds that provides a safe and inclusive space for children aged 5 to 18 in Leeds. Their mission is to empower young people through football, offering not just play but opportunities to gain skills and qualifications, helping them build positive futures and stay engaged in healthy activities. They tend to have over 100 children and young people attending their sessions weekly.

Thank you to Scent Salim, Child Friendly Leeds & BookTrust – These are amazing, you’re amazing. Thanks so much for supporting us again. We welcome children and young people attending our sessions, which are FREE, every Saturday morning on Hunslet Moor.

All support welcome, from CSR opportunities to sponsoring a young leader coach. Best wishes Sam and Craig and everyone at Champions.

Ilyas Salim, Founder & Managing Director at Scent Salim states: Giving back is something deeply important and spiritual for me. Life is short, and at the heart of it all is making people happy, seeing that smile, that moment of joy.

At Scent Salim, we’re always striving to do what we can for our community. Whether it’s supporting local charities, uplifting children, or simply spreading positivity through our work, giving back, running workshops and spreading positivity is part of who we are. By combining delightful aromas, known to trigger memories in the brain, with treats and educational resources, the gesture aimed to inspire happiness and hope during the holidays.

BookTrust donated many new books to inspire a lifelong love of books and reading in children and many were given to charities during our gifting season. It is the UK’s largest children’s reading charity, dedicated to getting children reading, especially those from low-income or vulnerable backgrounds. As a Child Friendly Leeds ambassador, they support Baby Week around early years, work with libraries and their primary book-gifting efforts focus on children aged up to 13.

Another charity to benefit from the Child Friendly Leeds gifting initiative was Women’s Whispers – dedicated to helping women and children in need. Founded by Sunjeeda Hanif and her two sons – who were nominated in the Child Friendly Leeds Award in 2024. They provide assistance with food and clothing, while also offering emotional support. We believe that through empowering women, we can create a positive ripple effect in our society. Our goal is to give women and children the resources they need to succeed and break the cycle of poverty. This year we donated over 50 gifts from our gifting partners including the BookTrust books.