Glasgow Times Toy Appeal 2021

Bank on Us: Help save Christmas with our Toy Bank Appeal together with Storage Vault, Pandamonium Play Centre and The Emmie Smillie Charity Foundation.

THE Glasgow Times have launched a campaign to save Christmas for families across the city. The Scottish Government child poverty statistics for Glasgow show that around 25% of children are living in relative poverty. The Bank on Us Toy Appeal is calling on Glaswegians to donate toys to youngsters throughout the city and take pressure off the hard working mums, dads and guardians who are facing an uncertain festive period due to the continuing Covid-19 crisis.

The Glasgow Times have launched the third year of Bank.On.Us backed by Storage Vault, Pandemonium Play Centre and The Emmie Smillie Charity Foundation – our festive foodbank appeal in 2019 successfully ensured the city's foodbanks were well stocked through December, when families are likely to experience increased financial pressures due to rising heating bills. While last year’s toybank campaign brought in around £15,000 and delivered around 100,000 gifts to our most vulnerable children. This year we are back to save Christmas, by aiming for every child in Glasgow to open a present on December 25. We are hoping our readers, nurseries, schools and city businesses will get behind it.

We hope you will join us in doing all we can to spread some Christmas spirit to those who are struggling most this holiday season. As the festive season approaches, toy banks across the country are gearing up for an influx of struggling parents and guardians hoping to bring joy to their little ones this Christmas. Each year, hundreds of Glaswegians are referred to the sites by social workers, foodbanks and children’s charities. However, this year, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause redundancies and businesses to fold, it’s expected to be worse than ever before with potentially thousands of families across the country relying on the banks.

Proceeds raised will be used to purchase toys. These gifts will be distributed to charities around the city.

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