Southampton City Council joins forces with Westquay to launch its annual Christmas toy appeal

Businesses, charities, community organisations and the wider Southampton community are invited to donate toys to help brighten up Christmas for the city’s children

(Left to right: Gina Windsor, Marketing Manager for Westquay, Councillor Peter Baillie, Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care at Southampton City Council, Sarah Hibbert, Customer Service Team for Westquay)

For the thirty-third year running Southampton City Council has launched its annual Christmas toy appeal. Once again businesses, charities, and community organisations are teaming up with Southampton City Council to help make Christmas that little bit more special for children and young people in difficult circumstances.

Supported by Westquay, and many other organisations, the appeal calls on kind-hearted members of the public to also donate new toys, suitable for children up to the age of 18. This will help ensure that young people who are supported by Southampton City Council’s children’s services have a special gift to open on Christmas morning.

A present drop-off point will be open at Westquay’s customer services desk where members of the public can donate new toys from Thursday 18 November to Monday 20 December. The public donated 5,000 presents through the drop off point last year with Westquay looking to exceed the total this year, setting a target of 5,500.

Southampton Football Club will be donating £10,000 worth of presents for the second year running. Members of staff from across the club will be rallying around to purchase toys from local shops to fulfil wish lists from some of the children supported by the Council.

The annual toy appeal was started in 1988 by Southampton City Council family engagement worker, Ann Farr who sadly passed away this year. The appeal has since become a festive highlight for the city, with hundreds of people coming together to show their support and generosity to the city’s children. Last year the appeal took place under unusual circumstances, including a shorter window for donations. Despite this over 20,000 toys were donated including those from Westquay customers as well as charities, community groups and other organisations across the city. This year, with restrictions eased, organisers are confident that this amount will be exceeded with people once again coming together for children who need their support.

Councillor Peter Baillie, Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care at Southampton City Council said:

“It’s great to kick-off this year’s toy appeal to help give children a brighter Christmas. The city has shone with kindness and generosity over the years and I’m looking forward to seeing it again.

“It has been a challenging 18 months for all of us, while a sense of normality returns for most, many families will still be facing difficult circumstances this Christmas. So I’m pleased to be once again partnering with Westquay and other brilliant community champions across the city to call on our community to do what they can to bring a bright smile to so many children’s faces on Christmas morning.”

Laura Read, General Manager at Westquay adds:

“We’re proud to once again support the Southampton Toy Appeal and looking forward to seeing the generosity of both our local community and visitors to hopefully help us meet our target of 5,500 presents this year!”