How is your Christmas shopping going?
How organised are you when it comes to Christmas? Have you already finished your Christmas shopping or will you be doing a last minute dash on Christmas Eve? At ELBA, we have to get our Santa hats on in the summer when we’re planning our annual Toy Appeal. This huge event sees thousands of toys donated to children in East London that wouldn’t receive a present at Christmas. This week, we’ll have already received over 10,000 toys, all donated by employees from companies in the City and Canary Wharf. But with over 20,000 children living in poverty in Tower Hamlets alone, we still need more toys!
So, if you’re one of the people that’s relaxing because they’ve done their Christmas shopping, you can take the time to donate a gift to the ELBA Toy Appeal. And if you’re only just thinking about buying presents, you can add an extra toy to your Christmas list for a child in need. We’ve got wish lists set up and gift ideas so you might even get some inspiration of what to buy for your friends and family!
Our Toy Appeal grotto has been open for a week now in the Jubilee Place shopping centre. Canary Wharf Group have provided an amazing retail unit for us to use which is easy to get for anyone working in the area. You can visit us Monday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm, until the 17th December. After that, Santa will be making his way across East London with a sleigh packed full of toys. The toys are distributed to frontline organisations working with families in crisis, including hospital wards, domestic abuse refuges, food banks and children’s centres.
Donating a toy may seem like a small act of kindness but for children that have nothing or very little, it can mean the world. One support worker said that “a gift, given at Christmas, will make children start to realise that the world isn’t such a bad place after all.” After another year of uncertainty, many parents just want to be able to have some normality at Christmas and give their children some happiness. A toy under the tree on Christmas day can do just that.
Visit the ELBA Toy Appeal grotto:
Jubilee Place Shopping Centre
Mall level -1
E14 5NY
Mon – Sat, 10am – 5pm
Or contact Smera Nadeem to find out how to donate online: smera.nadeem@elba-1.org.uk
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