What was achieved with your support in 2018

 

It is with thanks to the outstanding generosity of the Cheshire East community, We at Community & Voluntary Services (CVS) Cheshire East were able to raise over an amazing 1500 toys and gifts for our Christmas Toy Appeal. A seemingly modest amount compared to the previous appeals, but the average (approx) value per donation was much higher than we have ever had in the past and the appeal was as successful as ever!


The appeal concluded on December 6th and was able to distribute toys and gifts to 22 charities and family services all across Cheshire East, fulfilling every request received. It was run in aid of Cheshire East children who might otherwise go without at Christmas due to difficult and challenging circumstances.


Some of those supported were: Cheshire Without Abuse  l Central Cheshire Buddy Scheme l South Cheshire CLASP l Cheshire and Warrington Carers Trust l Home-Start Central and West Cheshire l Friends for Leisure l New Life Church (Congleton) l Mid Cheshire Riding for the Disabled l Ruby's Fund  l Carers Trust 4 All l Oakenclough Children's Centre l  Cre8 Macclesfield l  Cheshire East Youth Support Service l  Each charity working directly with the deserving children in the community. 9 Other CVS verified Cheshire East registered charities and local support services asked for their details not to be shared publicly.
 


Here is what the CVS Christmas Toy Appeal acheived in 2016 and 2017


It can only happen with pledged support


Without the pledged support and generosity from organisations and their staff, like the Weston Centre Business Hub, Crewe Alexandra FC, COS Recruitment, Elior UK, County Group and many more, this appeal would not have been possible, and the support we received from the public at our collection points across Cheshire East was fantastic! We'd like to say a massive thank you to all that donated and supported the appeal. 


Star of the appeal - Nell Jones

Each year someone really amazing steps forward and supports the appeal, 2018 was no exception as we were supported by the Remembering Nell Foundation

Set up as a lasting tribute to Nell Jones (of Holmes Chapel) who lost her life in the Manchester attacks, with cause to improve the lives and wellbeing of young people in the north-west, the Remembering Nell foundation held fundraising events donated generously to the CVS Christmas Toy Appeal and made a measurable difference to the amount of festive cheer we were able to provide our community.  

On behalf of all the benefiting charities, we'd like to express a huge thank you to Nell and her family for supporting the appeal and the deserving children in the Cheshire East community over the Christmas period. 

 


Making Good Things Happen - Our Volunteers

 

Volunteering was also a vital pillar of the CVS Christmas Toy appeal and a testament to the impact volunteering has in our community, as 25 volunteers gave 132 hours of their time over 6 weeks to organise, promote, fundraise and distribute the toys, on 6th December, the final day, Crewe Town Mayor, Cllr Brian Roberts came down to our distribution point to thank and congratulate our volunteers on the success of the appeal. 
 

 

We were grateful to have had Access Group and DWP staff volunteer with us as part of their employer supported volunteer schemes. If you work or a company that would encourage volunteering as part of a CSR policy or volunteering scheme, contact us at CVS, as the local Volunteer Centre we'll be more than happy to help support any initiatives put in place. We can provide information packs, talks, drop-in sessions and links to our online services for staff intranets.       
 

     
 

The CVS Christmas Toy Appeal is one example of the types of projects and services volunteering can provide our community. CVS supports 100s of organisations across Cheshire East looking to implement, grow and continue to deliver their services throughout the year with vital volunteer support to those who depend on them. 

Register with us as the Volunteer Centre for Cheshire East and show your interest in supporting our community by volunteering, opportunities from long term, short term and one-offs across all ranges of fun and engaging roles are listed throughout the year on our website, and we'll keep you updated through our Volunteers eBulletin.
   


Below are some messages from a few of the local benefiting charities.

 

Jeanette - Mid Cheshire Riding for the Disabled

 

"Our young riders were absolutely delighted with the gifts that we were able to pass on to them. All of the children have some form of disability, it's wonderful to be able to give them something at Christmas. It made their day."

 

 

   


 

Chrissie - Home-Start Cheshire

 

"We look after children and families within the immediate area, offering support to those parents who need a little help to ensure their child has the best possible start in life. This may be as a result of such things as postnatal depression, general struggles with the daily challenges of caring for a young child, a family bereavement, the resolution of a relationship, financial struggles, or perhaps the child themselves is ill, and the family need additional support in caring for them."

 

"At this time of year, it can become more isolating for our families as they try to meet the demands of Christmas. With the support of the Toy Appeal, we can remove the added stress and pressure, ensure that each child has a wonderful gift to open on Christmas Day, and allow the families to focus on theirs and their children needs directly. We are so grateful to everyone for their amazing donations, and for truly making Christmas for so many of our families."

 

 


 

South Cheshire CLASP

 

  

 


Bernie Temple - Barnardos, Cheshire East Domestic Abuse Service ( CEDAS)

 

"Everyone here at Cheshire east domestic abuse service would like to thank everyone who has very kindly donated toys/gifts again this year. These donations make such a difference to our service users and their families and are very much appreciated.


The families we support have witnessed and /or experienced domestic abuse and are often in financial difficulties due to the abuse or having to flee from their homes and support networks and this can often make this time of year even more stressful and traumatic than usual.We hold a xmas shopping event where all the brilliant donations are set out and our service users come in and choose toys/gifts for their families, it is very humbling to see how their faces light up when they choose toys to take home and wrap for their children, without your generous support we would not be able to do this.So once again thank you all so much for your generous donations, it makes such a difference to the families we support."

 


Sharon Stowell - Cheshire Without Abuse

 

Cheshire without Abuse supports vulnerable families and individuals who have been affected by Domestic Abuse, many of our clients are not in a position to be able to give their children the Christmas they would like to, some have fled from home and have nothing, others are working hard to rebuild their lives... ALL deserve some Christmas magic… your donations however big or small allowed CWA to bring the gift of Christmas to our clients. We are overwhelmed by the response to our appeal, thank you so much.

 


We hope you all had fun supporting the appeal and will support us again in 2019.
 

If you would like to know more about the CVS Christmas Toy Appeal or would pledge your upcoming support for the coming season, please don't hesitate to get in touch using the details at the foot of the page.

 

Weston Centre Business Hub 

Crewe Lyceum Theatre (@CreweLyceum)

Crewe Alexandra Football Club (@crewealexfc)

The County Group (@countyins)

Nantwich Civic Hall (@NantwichCivic)

COS Recruitment (@COSRecruitment)

 Close Brothers (@CloseBrothers)

Elior UK (@elioruk)

AVA CAD/CAM Group Ltd (@avacadcam)

Trac Precision Machining (@ChromalloyLLC

Blue Group (Central) Ltd (@blue_machinery‏)

Congleton Library (@CECLibraries

 Richmond Villages (@RVNantwich)

 Remembering Nell Foundation (@RememberingNell)