This year’s Giving Tree appeal has entered its final stages just in time for Christmas.
The annual campaign sees Christmas trees decorated with tags being placed in locations across Wokingham borough and beyond. On each tag is a gift idea from a charity for one of the youngsters they support. People are invited to take a tag, buy the item on it, and then return it under the tree.
Donations are collected and taken to Transform Housing for sorting between the 13 charities taking part. The presents are then wrapped by the charities and given to children. The last few gifts are due to be picked up and many have already reached their final homes.
This year, around 650 tags were taken from trees.
These were joined by an estimated 300 gifts from local businesses, many of them using Amazon wishlists to donate to one of the charities taking part.
This means that almost 1,000 presents have been given out to children who may otherwise have missed out this festive season.
The appeal is organised by Gill Mckernan, who said that the success of the event is due to a huge effort by many people.
“I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who took part,” she said.
“All the tree hosts and local businesses have been fantastic, and people have been so generous.”
Stories of individual generosity include one member of Nirvana Spa who bought all the last minute gift requests, something that they had also done in previous years.
Ms Mckernan starts planning for the Giving Tree in September. She has been work experience coordinator at Barnardo’s High Close School, Wokingham, for 33 years.
November and December are busy months for her, as she is also involved in the Toy Run, organising donations when they arrive at the school.
“I am not a fundraiser though, I just want to make sure that everyone gets the gifts they would like for Christmas,” she said.
She can see the scale and positive outcomes of both events.
“So many people benefit,” she said.
“And it is so rewarding when I can see everyone’s hard work paying off.”
The challenges of covid have impacted the logistics of this year’s Giving Tree. But Ms Mckernan explained that she was pleased to be able to place trees with tags in locations around Wokingham this year.
“The trees link people in a special way to the children they are donating a gift too,” she explained.
The charities who benefit are:
- Barnardo’s
- Sebastian’s Action Trust
- Look Ahead Care
- Berkshire Women’s Aid
- Kaleidoscopic UK
- Transform Housing
- Home Start
- Berkshire Young Carers
- Dingley’s Promise
- The Cow Shed
- Building For The Future
- First Days
- Berkshire Vision
Trees with tags were hosted by:
- Tesco Wokingham
- Tesco Warfield
- Tesco Martin Heron
- Newbury Building Society
- Nirvana Spa
- Wokingham Library
- Sedero Lounge Wokingham
Businesses who took part include
- Dell UK Bracknell
- Lumen Basingstoke
- PEAC Bracknell
- Wokingham Borough Council
- Simply Commerce Wokingham
- PWC Reading
- Artizian Hurst
