THE REDDITCH Christmas Toy Appeal has been hailed a resounding success for the third year in a row.
Kind-hearted residents donated to help bring a little festive joy to the children of families in the borough struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
The appeal is a joint operation run by the Revitalise Redditch group of local churches which together cover the Redditch Mission Area, and AOK, Acts of Kindness, the local charity behind Redditch Foodbank.
Elaine Whitfield, from Revitalise Redditch, said: “We helped with more than 600 children last year and there’s no question we are expecting more families in difficulty this year – you see hardship every day.”
And she emphasised that as usual this would not be a case of gifts just being given away.
“Every single family that comes to us will have been referred by an agency like the JobCentre, social services or schools,” she said.
“The generosity of people has been very humbling.
“Most of us have so much and it’s really lovely to be able to pass that forward to others.”
Both the Redditch Standard and the Kingfisher Centre have been supporting the campaign.
Elaine added: “It has been a real coming together of resources and community.
“We have had 2 donations of £1000 to purchase gifts – Redditch Round Table and Redditch Pool League.
“Every gift is a blessing to us, without the generosity of the people of Redditch we wouldn’t be able to help make Christmas Special for so many people and I can’t bear to think of any child not having a present to open on Christmas Day.”
