"I owe so much to Reading Family Aid"

Reading Family Aid’s Toys & Teens Appeal is BACK for 2022, sponsored by The Chronicle, Reading.  The charity is requesting generous supporters to donate new and nearly new toys at 28 donation points across Reading and the surrounding areas. These toys and gifts will be organised by hundreds of volunteers and distributed to under-privileged children in Reading and the surrounding area, who otherwise wouldn’t receive a present this Christmas. 
Sadly, this year is set to be one of the busiest for the appeal, as more families than ever before have reached out for help this Christmas.
One family who received gifts from the Toys and Teens Appeal know only too well how much this support means to families in need. In December, on a day when Grandmother, Sarah* should have been celebrating her birthday, she instead found herself in hospital fighting for her life. A fire broke out in her flat in Reading, and she was forced to jump out of a window to escape the blaze. She was left in ICU in a critical condition with a suspected broken Pelvis, hip, Collar bone, severe back injuries and potential internal damage. In the fire Sarah lost all of her possessions, including all the Christmas presents she’d saved to buy for her grandchildren. The Toys and Teens Appeal came to Sarah’s aid, and helped to give her gifts to give to her grandchildren at Christmas time. 
Her daughter said “Mentally my mum was really struggling and couldn’t shake the thought that there was somebody so evil that they would set light to a block of flats and endanger the lives of everybody living in the building. This linked to the fact my Mum wasn’t able to give any presents to her Grandchildren who are her world, was really affecting her mental health. We as a family owe so much to Reading Family Aid. Their supporters’ generosity helped us through a very dark time in our lives. For my mum, seeing her grandchildren happy gave her a reason to fight even harder in her recovery”.
 
Sarah said “I owe so much to Reading Family Aid, they helped me when I was at my lowest physically, financially and mentally. I had nowhere to live, lost everything I owned, didn’t know the severity of my injuries, if I would walk again. My children and Grandchildren are everything to me and the thought of everything being destroyed was really getting me down. I would like to say thank you to everybody at Reading Family Aid and all the people who have donated you will never know how much you have done for me and my family”.  
 * Name changed

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This year, please help us to support families like Sarah’s and those who, due to the cost of living crisis, cannot afford presents this Christmas. If you work in Reading, please consider setting up a workplace giving box and donating a toy each per staff member, or if your children attend local schools setting up a school donation point. Every toy makes a huge difference to the children supported by the appeal.
If you can’t donate a toy, please consider donating to the charity’s GoFundMe appeal. The money raised buys new presents for age groups that aren’t provided for.
Visit the charity’s Toy Donations page for details of how to donate toys and to find out what toys can and can’t be used, and to download posters.  

Please consider donating to our cause this year.  Thank you.

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