Chelsea shared with us how the Toy Appeal and FOOD club made sure her children didn’t go without at Christmas, bringing joy, relief and a sense of community during a challenging time.
I was working as a delivery driver at the time, but money was still something we worried about. The price of everything keeps going up and that makes things difficult.
There’s a coffee morning at our local community centre and one of the ladies was telling us about Family Action’s FOOD club. At first, we misunderstood and thought it was for people who were really desperate, so we didn’t go because we didn’t want to take away from people who needed the help.
Last Christmas we did get a food parcel from another community group and, alongside the stuff from FOOD club, that helped.
...we would have found something to do, even if we had to have a sausage dinner for Christmas.
I’ve got four kids, and money is always a concern, but I wasn’t struggling in the way I thought some people were. For me, it was about balancing our budget with the day-to-day stuff – “Will I have enough for our bills and electric?” That sort of thing.
But someone we’re close with became a volunteer at the FOOD club and she told us it’s for everyone.
Christmas was challenging for us last year, as I was only working 16 hours and my partner was out of work, so we didn’t have a lot coming in.
The FOOD club manager told me about the Toy Appeal, as she thought my kids would benefit from it. They were given games, and colouring books… my youngest got a teddy that he still plays with.
We saved the gifts so they could open them on Christmas day, they were already wrapped!
I’d like to thank everyone who contributes to the Toy Appeal as my kids really appreciated it, in fact, a lot of the kids on the estate appreciate it. A lot of them were really helped by the Toy Appeal last year, and it was good to know that nobody was going without.
Donate
Put a smile on a child’s face who has nothing this Christmas
Your gift will support families this Christmas and beyond
