A GROUP of sea cadets are holding their annual charity Christmas tree and decoration sale.

The Oxford Sea Cadets will be selling trees and decorations at their unit at Donnington Bridge Road.

Trees are on sale every day, including evenings until Christmas.

The Cadets have been running the sale for nearly fifty years now.

The Sea Cadet Corps is a voluntary youth organisation for boys and girls between 10 and 18.

Nationally, 15,000 youngsters get together every week in the Sea Cadets across 400 units.

The Cadets has 9,000 volunteers who are responsible for the sessions.

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The Corps has charitable status and all proceeds from the annual Christmas tree sales are used to help pay the running costs of the unit, which have to be raised locally.

As a charity, they rely on the support of people and organisations including the Royal Navy who feel strongly about helping teenagers to find their way in life.

Cadets give a small weekly subscription, and contribute or fundraise towards the cost of the skills training they gain at Sea Cadets, and the trips in the UK and abroad.

They use donations, gifts in wills, and grants to top up funding they receive from the Royal Navy so they can discreetly help teenagers who are struggling financially, to level the playing field, so everyone can join in with everything and try new possibilities.

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The Royal Navy has long been, and continues to be, a big supporter of Sea Cadets, providing around half of their funding.

The Sea Cadets has run for over 160 years.

For orphans of the Crimean War, sleeping in the back streets of England’s sea ports, life looked bleak.

To help them, coastal communities banded together to provide places for sailors to pass on nautical skills and training to give these young people a future. This is how, in 1856, the Naval Lads’ Brigade was born.