Christmas Appeal highlights
This week at Kids Inspire HQ 37 volunteers have spent many hours wrapping, packing, and delivering gifts and hampers generously donated by our wonderful community.
Wrapped goodies this week have gone to social workers, children centres and to our own Clinical team, who in turn will be gifting them to the children they nominated to receive them.
On top of gifts and hampers, our Christmas Appeal coordinator has been out and about spending donations that have come in towards the Appeal on more gifts – anything age-appropriate that is missing from the treasure trove of gifts – to ‘top up’ for our volunteers to select and wrap.
Positive comments we have received from volunteers this year (who also wrapped last year so are well placed to comment) include:
“Considering it’s a difficult time for so many, generosity seems higher this year. There are lots more lovely gifts to choose from to wrap for the childrem compared with last year.” - Volunteer
Volunteers have been gifting their time throughout the week, and have even come into HQ after being on stand-by when more wrappers have been needed.
As well as our army of volunteers, people from the community have been dropping in all week - the moutains of gifts are a delight to see. Plus Amazon deliveries are regularly coming in.
We are anticipating a lot of deliveries of hampers and gifts tomorrow (Saturday 3 December 10.30am-12.30pm) and encourage anyone who has a spare gift or two to drop in - Hargrave House,
Hollycroft, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 7FW.
Our Christmas Appeal Co-ordinator, Siobhan Drew, said: “I am amazed that so many are willing to give up their free time, and that so many more are willing to gift and donate. We couldn’t do it without this support, and we are all truly grateful. This year, unsurprisingly, we have received a record number of nominations, but with week 1 is almost complete, I am pleased to say we are on track to meet demand. Next week, we have our corporate supporters volunteering and we’ll be focusing on nominations received from schools across Essex.”
Gifts can be dropped into Kids Inspire HQ in Great Baddow on weekdays and two Saturdays - times vary and can be found here.
Or An Amazon Wishlist can also be found by clicking here
Gift recipients are aged 0-18 and have been nominated by Social Workers, Children’s Centres, Kids Inspire’s clinical team, schools and other organisations working with children across Essex.
Likewise, the hampers will go to the families of nominated children, hamper contents can be found here.
Financial contributions will be used to ‘top-up’ the appeal, often for teenagers, and will go towards our core services. Donations are welcome here.
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In 2021, the Christmas Appeal distributed over 1,322 gifts and 400 food hampers to children, siblings and families across Essex.
