“I've been to places where they've got absolutely nothing in their house or their flat. No carpets on the floor, no curtains on the window, no furniture. I went to one place and the little boy all he had was a cardboard box to play with. The kids don't have any other clothes other than what they go to school in, they just sleep in those. It’s happening here in Reading today and it's very scary.”
Ruth Perkins is fundraising manager for Reading Family Aid. Every year the organisation has an annual toy appeal asking people in the town and surrounding area to donate toys. These are given to children who would otherwise not have a gift on Christmas Day. Ruth has been part of the organisation for the last 20 years:
“The number of children that we donate to has gone up astronomically. We used to deal with toys for about 500 or 600 children and last year we did 3001 children. Reading on the face of it seems quite an affluent town but there are areas of real deprivation. The difference between those that have and those that have not is growing bigger and it's hard to believe. You just can't imagine the kinds of lives that some of these people are living."
To make a donation please check out the Toy Donations page for details.
With the cost-of-living crisis hitting families hard in so many ways, this support makes a real difference to every family. Here’s just one of the many ‘thank you’ messages Reading Family Aid received last year,:
"Hi, thank you so much for the fantastic toys we received. This was the first time we had received toys from you. Our families were so grateful. Everything was brilliant. We are so grateful to you for what you do. You made many children very happy, especially this year when things are very tough for so many. A massive thank you."
There are two ways you can help.
For details of how to donate toys, please visit: www.readingfamilyaid.org/donate-toys.html
To donate money, visit Reading Family Aid's gofundme page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/christmas-toys-and-teens-appeal-2023
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