Next week sees the launch of the 2016 Reading Family Aid Toys & Teens Appeal. This annual appeal brings a little hope and happiness to local families living in desperate need, at a time of year when many feel lost and forgotten about.
 
The charity’s Toys & Teens Appeal collects and redistributes new or as new toys at Christmas to disadvantaged families who have been nominated by social workers and support organisations across the Reading area. All toys are generously donated by individuals, businesses, schools, churches etc. and dropped at local donation points; from Theale to Twyford and from Winnersh & Emmer Green to Shinfield.
 
The donation points will open on Thursday 20th October and remain open until Sunday 4th December, after which scores of volunteers will sort, pack & deliver over 10,000 donated items to their grateful recipients. None of this would be possible without the support of local volunteers and businesses such as Big Yellow who provide free storage facilities and Rabbits who provide vans to deliver all of the gifts.
 
In 2015, Reading Family Aid’s Toys & Teens Appeal delivered gifts to 1,500 disadvantaged children from over 600 families, and with the help of the local community it aims to extend its reach even further this year.
 
More information on how you can support Reading Family Aid’s Toys & Teens appeal, including where to donate,  can be found on our website or follow us on twitter @RdgFamilyAid or Facebook.
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If you would like to get involved with volunteering, please contact us at info@ReadingFamilyAid.org

​August 6th, the day of Earley Green Fair unusually dawned with clear blue sky and sun forecast for the whole day. Hurrah! 

We were unloading the cars by 8.15 and an hour later we were all set to go with a good selection of toys, children's and adult books, adult jigsaws, bric-a-brac, children's clothes and a fantastic Tombola. 

This year has been one of our most successful appeals ever. Thanks to everyone who donated and contributed their time! With your help we were able to deliver gifts to 1,500 children in the Reading area.

Here's a review of how everything came together during the week of collecting, sorting and distributing the toys.

Sunday

It all starts on Sunday afternoon when we take over St Luke's church hall and set up all the tables. It's important everything is ready for when the toys start arriving on Monday morning.

Monday

On Monday morning the toys start arriving in the vans and the tables fill up quickly. That's not surprising given that we had 31 public donation points and 19 private collections this year, generating a record 13 van loads of donations!

Items are sorted as they arrive and are then taken to the designated tables so it's easier to select appropriate toys for each child later.

Lorraine is filling Christmas stockings that were made for the appeal by Sallie's quilting club.

Tuesday

This is one of our busiest days as donations continue to arrive at the hall and the tables are overflowing. It's time for our volunteers to collect a bag from the nerve centre in the office. Each bag is pre-labelled with some information about the child (or children) who will receive the gifts, and volunteers go round the tables choosing gifts that best match the information we have about each child.

One hundred and seventeen volunteers helped out in the hall this year, and filled 728 bags between them. Sarah Hacker, the Mayor of Reading, even paid us a visit and packed a bag of toys for a 5 year old girl.

Wednesday

Mark Hepplethwaite and his colleague from the Masons arrived this morning with a another large delivery of toys - where to put them all?! The record number of donations this year kept everyone busier than ever, but meant that we could be generous with the gifts. 

Thursday

As the week draws to a close we are focussed on finishing packing all the labelled bags and distributing them to the charities and social workers who will wrap and deliver them to the families in time for Christmas.

Friday

It's finally time to start packing up the hall, and the final bags are distributed in the vans. This year we had a team of 14 van drivers who drove a total of 600 miles to collect the donations and deliver the packed bags.

And so the appeal has finished for another year. We have received so many lovely messages from the organisations who received the gifts. Here are just a few of them:

Thank you everyone! Your hard work and generosity have made a real difference to the lives of many children in Reading.