The festive season should be a time of joy. But this year, whilst trying to recover from the pandemic and struggling with the rising cost of living, many families in Newham are having to make heartbreaking decisions on whether to put food on the table or warm up their home or watch their child wake up on Christmas morning to no gifts, through no fault of their own.

That’s why we’re inviting you to support our Toy Appeal and help us give a child a smile!

Newham already has the highest number of children living in poverty of any London borough. Now due to the cost of living crisis, even more families are struggling. Through our work we know many families face increased hardship, or no recourse to public funds. Others struggle with longstanding challenges from domestic abuse to long-term illness. That’s why this year, more than ever, your generosity would make a world of difference to vulnerable children and their families. 

Stacey, our Children and Families Project Director, says, “Every year we meet parents struggling to give their children the Christmas they’d hoped for, and this year is looking more challenging than ever because of the Cost of Living Crisis. But with your support, we can ease some of the pressure for parents and bring a smile to children’s faces with an unexpected gift!“

Will you be there for your community this Christmas by making a donation today? We’ll use the money to buy carefully chosen, age-appropriate gifts for children aged 0 to 17 living in poverty, referred by one of our project teams or Newham partner organisations. We will provide toys to children, regardless of their race, religion, and gender. Gifts will be personally delivered by our friendly volunteers to families’ homes or at our foodbank.

Reena’s Story

Our volunteers dressed as Santa and his helpers to deliver gifts last year. Reena’s family were one of the recipients. She says, “My children wore their best Christmas clothes and we decorated our house waiting for Santa to deliver their presents – it was such a wonderful experience for our family. They would usually never get Christmas gifts, so this was extra special. Thank you so much!“

We also surveyed our recipients last year and 100% said that receiving the gifts made a difference to their Christmas experience!

Thank you!

 We are so grateful for your support. We also know that times are tough for many so if you are not in a position to give, we completely understand. Please help us by sharing our appeal link instead! This can be through your emails, social media or whatsapp to your friends and family.

Further information

Please note that due to logistics we are unable to accept physical donations of toys this year. If you would still like to donate physical toys, our friends at ALTEL are accepting them.

If we raise enough money, we will also purchase smaller treats for festivals next year such as Easter and Ramadan to help build longer-term relationships with families in poverty. In the event we raise more money than we need, we will allocate it to our wider work supporting children and families.

Our people stories are inspired by real examples from our work, however names and personal details may be changed to protect privacy. The photos used on this page are from our families work last year and do not represent the people described in the stories.