The time for giving isn’t over... so please donate your unwanted gifts
’TIS still the season of goodwill... and that duplicate gift or unwanted toy could put a smile on the face of a more needy person or family, charities have said.
In an appeal for donations, charities have urged families with leftover presents to not waste them or throw them out but instead give them to a worthy cause.
With many of us bound to have received well-intentioned but unwanted gifts over Christmas, Crosscare, Barnardos and St Vincent de Paul have each issued pleas for donations.
Catholic social support agency Crosscare is holding its annual collection at Dublin’s Pro Cathedral, where unwanted gifts are collected and then distributed throughout the year.
They will be distributed to people who use their homeless and family hub services.
Children’s charity Barnardos is also appealing for unwanted gifts such as clothes, shoes, household goods and toys to be dropped into one of its seven shops across the country.
‘Rather than holding on to something you might not use, you could give it a much more special purpose,’ Bernadette Harrington of Barnardos said.
‘The gift that wasn’t right for you might be the perfect gift for someone else, and your donation will go one step further by supporting with children and families around the country,’ she added.
Meanwhile, St Vincent de Paul is asking people who received unwanted book gift vouchers as a Christmas present to donate them to the charity, or purchase children’s books to donate.
The books can be for babies, children, pre-teens or young adults, SVP said.
‘Might be a perfect gift for someone’