Can you help to make this year the best Christmas for some of Reading's children?

Reading Family Aid’s Toys & Teens Appeal continues for 2022, sponsored by The Chronicle, Reading.  The charity is requesting its generous supporters donate new and nearly new toys at 28 donation points across Reading and the surrounding areas. These toys and gifts will be distributed to under-privileged children in Reading and the surrounding area, who otherwise wouldn’t receive a present this Christmas. 
Through social workers, schools and organisations, Reading Family Aid are able to identify children who are the most in need of support from the Toys and Teens Appeal each year. One such group is Grassrootz, a collection of volunteers who run youth clubs for underprivileged children in Reading. The group was set up by Kelvin Husbands, when he noticed there was no provision for young people after school. To keep these young people out of gangs and give them somewhere to go, Kelvin has now set up three clubs across Reading.
He said “The cost of living crisis has really affected some of our young people. We have noticed lots of children coming to the club hungrier than before. We have bread and spreads available in case a child is hungry but in recent weeks we are going through double the amount of loaves”.
When talking about the Toys and Teens Appeal Kelvin said “This appeal is important, especially this year with the cost of living rising. Christmas is an extremely difficult time and whilst most of us look forward to this time of year, lots of families feel under an awful amount of stress and pressure. The expectations and demands on families are huge and this is an additional pressure that some of them feel really guilty about as they can’t give their children the Christmas they would like to.  Last year, after receiving presents from this appeal, the children we support said it was the best Christmas they’d ever had”.  

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If you can spare it, please consider donating a new or nearly new toy to the appeal this year. You can drop gifts off at any of the 28 donation points. Or, if you can’t donate a toy, please consider donating to the GoFundMe appeal. The money raised buys new presents for age groups that aren’t provided for. Please help a child have a happy Christmas this year. Thank you.

Please visit our Toy Donations page for details of how to donate toys and to find out what we can (and can't) use.

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