Toys & Teens Appeal 2014

Toys & Teens Appeal 2015

So, the Toys & Teens Appeal is over for another year, and once again we have been amazed at the generosity of the people of Reading whose donations reached record levels. Thank you to everyone who donated!

This year we delivered a sack of gifts to 1,500 children in the Reading area, helping in a small way to make their Christmas a happier time.

“I would like to say a huge thank you to Reading Family Aid for all the wonderful gifts that were donated to our families, they have been gratefully received. It really is heartwarming to see how generous people have been.” – Community Nursing Secretary, Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

This appeal would not be possible without the contribution of a wide group of individuals and organisations. There are too many to name, and we wouldn’t want to miss anyone out, but we would like to acknowledge how the community of Reading has made this year’s appeal such a success yet again.

Thank you to the Reading Chronicle for helping to publicise and raise the profile of the appeal again this year.

Thank you to all the public donation points that provided accessible locations for people to visit and donate, and thanks to the private businesses, churches and schools that organized their own collections.

Thank you to the large team of wonderful volunteers who made it possible for us collect, sort, pack and deliver all the gifts to the children for Christmas. Thank you for giving up your time and for your tireless work.

And thank you to the special people of Reading for all your donations. It is truly heartwarming to witness your generosity.

Here are a few statistics to round up this year’s appeal:

1,500 children received a sack of toys and gifts.
31 public donation points and 19 private collections.
117 volunteers in the hall and 14 van drivers.
13 full vans of toys collected from public donation points and private collections – a record!
600 miles driven by our vans to collect all the donations.
230 sandwiches and 550 cups of tea and coffee made and consumed during the sorting and distributing. We lost count of biscuits and cakes!

You can read more about the appeal and see some photos on our blog.