Trollyfuls of gifts are going to Wokingham's Giving Tree appeal

TROLLYFULS of gifts have been donated to this year’s Giving Tree thanks to generous Wokingham residents.

The annual appeal that ensures all children across the borough can enjoy a happy Christmas is continuing, and last Friday, staff at Tesco handed over a host of presents to Giving Tree organisers.

The toys and games have all been requested by children who are being looked after by a number of charities that work in Wokingham, including Barnardo’s, Berkshire Women’s Aid, Sebastian’s Action Trust and Wokingham Young Carers.

In some cases, the present from The Giving Tree will be the main gift given to the children that year.

Louise Jedras, community champion of Tesco Wokingham, was delighted to have been given so many toys to donate.

“We handed over the trolley to Transform, who will sort all the gifts before passing them on to the relevant local children’s charities,” she explained.

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“Customers at Tesco Wokingham have been so generous buying the gifts for local children who might otherwise have had an empty stocking on Christmas morning. A trolley this full leaves the store several times a week at the moment.”

There are still a number of present suggestions that need picking up.

To help, simply visit one of the Giving Trees, choose a tag, buy the gift on the tag and return it – unwrapped – to the tree.

Big-hearted volunteers then go to work to get the presents to the local charities benefiting from the appeal and make sure they go to children whose stockings might otherwise have been empty on Christmas morning.

Last year, more than 2,500 tags were collected and hopes are high that Wokingham folk will be even more generous this time around.

Gill Mckernan, from Barnardo’s High Close School, organises the appeal with a team of volunteers including the kind staff at Transform Housing, who sort and store all the gifts for the charities to collect.