Donations needed as Xmas toy appeal gets underway

ROCHDALE Borough Council's staff-run Number One Riverside Giving Back charity is now collecting donations to this year's Christmas Toy Appeal, which helps make sure local children who are living in poverty have presents to open on 25 December.

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Helen Walton with staff from RRG Toyota Rochdale who donated hundreds of gifts from customers and staff last year. Below, Helen Walton with Cardinal Langley School pupils Oliver and Lucy. Oliver and his sister Lucy support the appeal each year and in 2024 collected over 100 toys and donations, asking people to bring gifts to their mum's salon, R & R Therapy in Middleton.

The annual appeal, organised by council staff for the past twelve years, is accepting donations at local libraries or Your Trust leisure centres until 12 December.

Council policy advisor Helen Walton, from the Giving Back charity who started the appeal and was awarded a British Empire Medal for her work on it, said: "We're already seeing requests for help, and for many families this winter, Christmas is something they simply can't afford.

"Every single donation ensures a child has a gift to unwrap - something that might not happen otherwise.

"We rely on the incredible generosity of local people and businesses, and together we can make a real difference for the borough's most vulnerable children."