What’s it all about? ELBA’s Toy Appeal
A Christmas present isn’t about necessity or survival; it’s a reminder that someone’s thinking of you – that there is hope beyond hardship. Many years ago, an employee at ELBA had the same thinking: that whilst as a charity we work with some of the most deprived areas of east London, why not aim to provide children with a bit of festive cheer at Christmas – out of goodwill.
So quietly under the desk one Christmas, we developed some space for toys to hand out to the community of east London. Over the years this has grown into the official annual ELBA Toy Appeal. We are delighted to announce that December 2016 saw us achieve our most successful Toy Appeal campaign to date, with over £96,166 worth of gifts donated and distributed to 50 community organisations across east London and Islington.
Recipient organisations included housing associations, NHS hospital wards, adventure playgrounds, refugee organisations and community centers. Gifts for both girl and boys between ages 0-16 years were distributed and included soft toys, books, Lego, outdoor and indoor toys, arts and crafts set, sports equipment and many more.
ELBA also worked with its Islington-focused satellite office, the BIG Alliance, to involve companies and community organisations in North London. We had over 40 companies based in the City, Canary Wharf and Islington, including Westfield, Expedia & Linklaters supporting the appeal; hosting internal collections in their buildings and purchasing gifts via an online gift list. New participants to the toy appeal included; Rubicon Estates, Prudential & Sir Robert McAlpine.
We kicked off this year at the offices of the Toy Appeal’s single biggest contributor; UBS, with employee volunteers sorting and picking the 2,935 toys donated by their employees. The size of donations is so large it warrants a sorting day of its own!
The Toy Appeal then got into full swing at the ELBA Grotto for two full weeks where we were supported by volunteers from RPC, HSBC and Rubicon Estates and our very own ELBA colleagues. Representatives from Beazley & LinkedIn and MP for East Ham Stephen Timms, paid a special visit to the ‘Grotto’ to see the operation first hand. If you would like an insight into what it is like to be Santa’s helper see our article on RPC elves getting into the festive spirit and our CEO, Ian, writing about the Toy Appeal in December. A particular mention goes to HSBC who not only had employees out to support at the Grotto on numerous days but also went the extra mile with an impressive internal communications and marketing drive that helped them beat their previous target to donate over 1,620 toys.
Whilst the Toy Appeal focuses on collecting gifts for children, it also hopes to take the additional pressure off cash-strapped parents who may not have the means for a generous Christmas. The ELBA Toy Appeal wants to prevent families missing out or being forced into debt as a result of the increasing pressure at Christmas to give gifts to their children.
One of this year’s beneficiaries was Hestia Housing. The charity is the largest provider of domestic abuse refuges in London and have the largest team of specialists working to combat Human Trafficking across the Capital and the South East. 950,000 children across the UK are affected by domestic abuse, either directly as victims of violence, or indirectly in terms of witnessing violence. For many women, this is the tipping point at which they seek help – in a recent survey of 86 women with children living at Hestia’s refuges, 79% reported they had left their abusive partner because they feared for their children’s safety (Hestia, 2015). Clare Carty, Volunteering Manager at Hestia Housing explained:
“Thanks to ELBA, 322 children in our refuges each received at least one Christmas present.”
One 12 yr old child said:
“I thought we left all our presents at the old house, today has made me so happy I feel like we can celebrate Christmas together.”
While a Christmas present can’t eliminate the issues that have meant such charities and community organisations exist, it does provide a sense of optimism that people are aware of others and their circumstances, and a reminder that families and communities do not have to face their time alone.
