Children in Leicestershire who don’t receive gifts at Christmas will now be able to enjoy some festive cheer, thanks to a donation to a local toy charity.
Toys on the Table – which was set up 20 years ago – has been awarded the grant by Platform Housing Group.
The donation was part of the social landlord’s yearly community kindness campaign, which will see it support 62 local specialist organisations, charities, food banks and events across its East Midlands communities, totalling £35,039.12. Overall the campaign will donate £82,135 this year.
Bindya Mistry, Community Engagement Officer at Platform Housing Group, said: “We are so pleased to support the fabulous work undertaken by Toys on the Table, an organisation run purely by the goodwill of volunteers.
“As a social housing provider, we have more than 3,300 homes across the city of Leicester and the wider county and it is very likely that many of these children will be receiving gifts from Toys on the Table.
“It is heartwarming to think that our donation will ensure that those children who would otherwise have gone without this Christmas will wake up to a present on Christmas morning.”
Toys on the Table was launched in the early 1980s, when Leicester Round Table established the project. In recent years it has become a separate independent registered charity, run by a Board of Trustees who represent community service organisations including Rotary International, Inner Wheel, the Society of Leicestershire and Rutland Golf Captains, together with workers and volunteers from both Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council Social Services.
Last year the charity provided more than 3,500 presents. Referrals are made through a social worker or schools for children up to the age of 16 years.
Mac Clarke, Chairman of Toys on the Table, said: “We are so grateful for the donation we have received from Platform Housing Group. The cost of living crisis has deeply affected families in Leicestershire and it is heartbreaking to think of children waking up on Christmas morning without a present.
“As a charity we rely on donations and would like to say a heartfelt thank you to Platform for its support.”
Other projects in Leicester and the wider county that have benefited from Platform’s Kindness Campaign include Zinthiya Trust, The Ark Warm Space Shelton, New Life Church Coalville Foodbank, The Bridge East Midlands and Leicester South Foodbank.
