We are lucky that the people who fill our collection boxes are so generous that we can pack our bags with good quality toys for children aged up to 12. Finding gifts for teenagers, however, is not so easy and we found last year that we had to buy some gifts to meet the requests from our partner charities. What little reserves we have will be kept to one side in case of a shortfall again this year.
While the gifts are freely given we have to buy collection boxes and labels to go in our collection points and then, when they come back to base everything is wrapped and put into our trademark red bags ready to be distributed. We have to raise funds for all our wrapping, bags, boxes and publicity for each campaign and, as requests for our services increase, so do our costs.
We have already invested in racking and storage boxes, but we plan to purchase additional storage as we expand.
Last year we managed to provide 810 bags, but this year, as a result of the effects of COVID-19, we expect to at least double that amount, and we urgently need to raise enough funds so that we can give each young person a gift that they will remember and will know that, through the generosity of strangers they are not forgotten.