Great response as toys flood in
Your support is more vital than ever
Donations to the Observer’s Give A Gift Appeal have been flooding in to drop-off points across the area.
And representatives of some of the good causes have been describing just how important the toys and gifts will be, especially in a year which has been particularly tough for everyone.
With the charities hoping to uplift the bulk of the items in the next week, generous readers who may still have items to donate are being asked to please drop them at the drop-off points as soon as possible.
Reporter Kaiya Marjoribanks said: “We will be gathering in as many of the toys and gifts from our dropoff points over the next few days and the weekend. Any drop-off points, schools or business which still need to arrange collection of items can get in touch with us to arrange uplift.
“We will still be accepting items up to Christmas, however. We just want to be able to give the charities a good head start, particularly as the logistics this year are understandably more complex.
“A huge thank you to all who support the appeal, from individuals to workplaces and from schools to drop-off points. Our drop-off points undoubtedly have more than enough going on right now, yet they only too willingly offer their help. Give A Gift just wouldn’t work without them.
“Feedback from the support workers from the amazing charities and good causes involved leaves us in no doubt how much the donations are needed and appreciated. We are privileged to be able to undertake something which allows the public to show their support to these fantastic people for everything they do for others throughout the year.”
A spokesperson for Stirling Council Children’s Services said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has brought out the best in many people - people who have shown compassion and empathy and offered a helping hand to others during these extraordinary times none more so than the people of Stirling are once again donating a fantastic amount of presents to the Stirling Observer Give a Gift Appeal. These will go a long way to ensuring that some of the more vulnerable children in Stirling will have a much happier time this Christmas.”
Home-start Stirling manager Rachel Keenan said: “Without doubt 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone regardless of what your daily life entails.
“For many families supported by Home-start Stirling they have seen a year of increased challenges as we support so many families who are affected by isolation, poverty and mental health difficulties, which Covid-19 has only exacerbated.
“Christmas is normally a time of joy and meeting with loved ones and for so many families this year, this may not happen. For so many families supported by Home-start Stirling they are struggling with the additional financial pressures of Covid-19.
“The Give a Gift Appeal is now more important than ever as this offers help and brightness at a very difficult time.”
Among the charities and good causes which help to distribute the gifts donated every year to the Stirling Observer Give A Gift Appeal are Stirling Young Carers; Home-start Stirling which supports families with young children going through difficult times;
Stirling Women’s Aid; Stirling Council social services; PLUS, the local organisation which provides social opportunities for children and young people with disabilities; Stirling Interfaith Community Justice Group, which helps families and children at the Family Help Hubs at Cornton Vale and Glenochil; Support4families, which supports those affected by a relative’s substance abuse including kinship carers; Barnardo’s; and Forth Valley Royal Hospital children’s ward.
Collected with the support of a host of dropoff points across the area,
the gifts aim to ensure no local child goes without on Christmas morning and that those children and their families going through difficult times know their community has them in their thoughts.
The appeal also exists to ease the pressure many of the charities face over the festive season and allow them to put resources they may otherwise have had to use for gifts into their other areas of good work.
Any businesses, schools or organisations are also welcome to offer their premises as a drop-off point or to hold their own in-house collections.