Children’s toy appeal delivering festive cheer to families this Christmas

Families across Staffordshire will receive a sack full of presents thanks to their local family hubs and kind donations from local charities, businesses and the public.

Christmas can be an especially tough time for many families and each year Staffordshire County Council’s family hubs distribute thousands of toys and gifts to vulnerable children and young people.  The young people may be in foster care, residential homes, or being supported by Family Practitioners.

Gifts include toys, books, games, toiletries and clothing.

At Newcastle Family Hub, volunteers from local charity ‘A Child’s Heart’ have been busy collecting and wrapping thousands of presents to be given out in the coming weeks.

Mark Sutton, Cabinet member for Children and Young People at Staffordshire County Council, visited Newcastle’s Family Hub to see the project first hand.

Mark said: “Many children who are being supported by our Early Help teams will benefit from the spirit of giving this Christmas, thanks to the kindness of others.

“For some families, they are faced with making impossible decisions like whether to heat their home, buy food and essentials, or a present for their children.  Without the generosity of charities, local businesses and members of the public, some may not get a gift otherwise.

“This is an important project for our teams and one they look forward to each year.  Seeing the reactions from families and the looks on children’s faces when they receive their gifts is priceless.”

In South Staffordshire, thanks again to the generosity of local charity ‘A Child’s Heart’ and donations from the community, the family hub team received a wonderful selection of presents to distribute to families in need.  The team’s aim is to ensure that every child has a special gift to open on Christmas Day, bringing a smile to their faces and a little extra joy to the season.

At Lichfield Family Hub, staff are supported every year by Julie Armstrong from ‘A Child’s Heart’ charity.  This year, they collected over 100 bags full of gifts for children.  Staff also paired up with ‘The One Off’ company through the Family Action Toy appeal this year and have received a generous amount of donations from them.  The team have also been supported by RRT Global who put together food hampers throughout the year.  The ‘Winter Food Hampers’ will be delivered on 16 December, ready for families to collect for the festive period.

Staff at Tamworth Family Hub have been distributing over 60 gift bags filled with toys collected by ‘A Child’s Heart’ charity.  Additionally, the team have received tremendous support from the ‘Tamworth Round Table’ again, who will be delivering numerous presents in the coming weeks.  Elan Homes has also generously offered to set up a ‘Toy Collection Point’ in one of their show homes.  All of which has resulted in many more presents being available to gift to children this month.

Over at East Staffordshire Family Hub, the team were visited by Santa’s Elves from A Child’s Heart Charity.  They delivered lots of presents to provide to children working with the early help teams. Without this generosity these families may have struggled to provide any presents to their children, therefore this was an amazing gift from the charity.

And in the Staffordshire Moorlands, the family hub was delighted to receive a generous number of gifts from Biddulph Methodist Church and a number of local businesses, as well as those kindly donated by ‘A Childs Heart’.  The team hope the gifts will make a significant difference and will bring immense joy and happiness to the families in the area.

Staffordshire County Council’s family hubs provide a wealth of information, support and advice for local families.  Families can also access a range of services, participate in activities with their young children and find out about local groups at any of the 13-county council run hubs.

Mark added: “The support our family hubs give to people in need across Staffordshire all year round is key to making sure every child has the best possible start in life.  If families haven’t used their local hub yet, I’d urge them to go along and find out about all the amazing things available.”

For more information visit the Staffordshire Family Hubs website 

Mark Sutton explains more about the Christmas toy appeal in this short video.