Sponsored by
Sunderland Echo Christmas Toy Appeal 2009
We need a Christmas miracle to help struggling families city-wide.
And we are counting on you taking the Echo Toy Appeal to your hearts and making it another record breaker, writes women's editor Linda Colling.
HOW TO HELP
YOU can leave your gifts at collection points throughout the city.
Please give only new toys and mark your unwrapped gifts "boy" or "girl", stating the age range they are for.
As well as toys we need toiletries for men, gloves and socks, smellies and gifts for mothers.
The following are our collection points:
- Asda Customer Services, Leechmere.
- Asda customer services Byron Place, Seaham.
- Morrison's at Doxford Park and Seaburn.
- Jopling's toy department.
- The Bridges customer service desk.
- Washington Galleries Management suite on 1st floor.
- Byron Place Shopping Centre, Seaham, control room.
- Our city centre office in High Street and also at Echo House, Pennywell.
WHAT an astonishing avalanche of love and goodwill flooded in last year to make the Echo Toy Appeal a fantastic record breaker.
And this year we are counting on being snowed under again by your breathtaking generosity as we bring the true spirit of Christmas into the poorest of homes on Wearside.
Your giving never ceases to amaze us and transforms the bleakest of lives, bringing festive cheer to destitute families, showering the very poorest of the poor with untold blessings.
The quantity and quality of your gifts is unbelievable and the Echo Toy Appeal has become one of the finest traditions in the city.
And more than ever we need your help to make Christmas happen in hundreds of homes. The need is greater than last year and we will be helping Wearside Women In Need (WWIN), which shelters mothers and children fleeing violent men, and Sunderland Social Services, which is at the sharp end of helping young couples, single mothers and young men and women coming out of care.
Thousands contribute to our appeal, helping the desperate and destitute and saving families from turning to loan sharks.
As the countdown begins, Clare Phillipson, boss of WWIN, painted this poignant picture. She said: "Lots of people get excited about Christmas. Some people worry about Christmas. The people we work with absolutely dread Christmas.
"Right now we try to avoid the use of the word Christmas because it's guaranteed to lead to feelings of real anxiety, worry and despair.
"That's all down to lots of things – a combination of poverty and anxiety that they are just about managing now or they are not managing, so how on earth are they going to manage at Christmas?
"And it brings with it a sense of failure that somehow they are not as good as everybody else, that it's their own fault that they are in this position and they are going to be letting their children down... and they feel like they have let them down already. And then there's the young homeless, isolated people.
"Christmas is a time of extreme isolation and regret and they wonder why they haven't got any families like everyone else, and how are they going to fill in the long, lonely hours on Christmas Day.
"Some will be wondering if they can afford to put the money in the gas or electricity and be sat in the dark and the cold on Christmas Day.
"And the places where they might go and spend time are all closed. If you have no money you can walk round the shopping centre and at least it's light and warm but everywhere is closed and you can't afford to go out socialising."
And Clare stressed how crucial your giving is this year: "The need is very deinitely acute. There are a lot of people who have lost their jobs, people who were in temporary work and no longer have that work.
"And because of the recession a lot of people are doing very well, prices of many things have come down and they are looking forward to a comfortable Christmas.
"But a lot of people have lost hope and optimism with lots of bad news every day about the credit crunch, rising unemployment and deaths in war.
"They have a sense of lost optimism which seems like the world is a sad, hard place. And we would like to remind people that life is tough for all of us, whether you are well-off or not, for all of us have griefs and losses, but when you have that and are also living in poverty, the pressure can seem intolerable and they dread Christmas."
It is against this backdrop that we are calling out to you to be part of our Christmas miracle. As Clare said: "The one thing we can all do is be a bit nicer and kinder to each other and reach out in whatever way possible and help. Last year's appeal was just incredible,
"People are incredibly generous. It's beyond belief and the care that people put into gifts is clearly the same as they would put in for their own children and that's what makes it so touching.
"That total strangers are prepared to do that for others as they would for their own family is the true meaning of the spirit of Christmas."
Such kindness and care is so touching and humbling that volunteers who collect your gifts from Echo House are overwhelmed.
No wonder they cry, knowing what all this means to so many. We only wish you could see the difference you make and the tears of gratitude shed in homes when your gifts arrive.
Terry Boland, a 26-year-old single mother of three from Washington, was despairing last Christmas, with her Cameron, six, Sophie, four and Tyler, three, after breaking free from a violent partner.
She said: "I was distraught for Christmas and didn't know what to do. I spoke to WWIN. It was the first time I was left by myself and most of the money used to go to him and I didn't know what to do by the time I had paid my bills there was nothing left for Christmas."
Physically and mentally at a low ebb, she had the burden of Christmas lifted when WWIN brought her gifts for the children.
Terry said: "It was fantastic. They got absolutely all sorts. I was crying and couldn't believe it."
And this year having just moved into a new home she is struggling again. Terry, who hasn't a bed to sleep in and shares a bunk bed with one of the children, hasn't a dining table or chairs.
She said: "I am really struggling for Christmas this year with moving into a new house. I've had to pay for a bond for the house and had to leave stuff at my old house because we had to get out and away from my partner. It's just the money situation. It's completely unreal and they want bikes and a Wii but there's no chance, so anything will be wonderful."
And another 25-year-old single mother who spent last Christmas in a WWIN refuge, fleeing domestic violence, with her three children aged five, four and two, has got a new home for Christmas but is strapped for cash.
She said: "I am happy that I have got a house because I have been homeless for a year. The bairns would be happy for anything they get."
This Christmas there are all ages to cater for, from newborn babies, youngsters in refuges as well as teenagers and we want to give gifts to mothers to brighten their day.
We especially need gifts for teenagers and young men and women with no families who have come out of care. Without your present they would have nothing to open on Christmas Day.
Then there are scores of young mams and dads struggling on benefits and desperate to give their children presents.
Over at The Place at Hendon, where young couples and single mothers are helped with practical and emotional support, our appeal saves them from having a millstone of debt around their necks.
Tins of food are always a boon – especially festive fare. As Clare said: "It makes a world of difference if you have to choose between heating or eating."
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