Leisure centres collecting for Christmas toy appeal

The Quarry Swimming & Fitness Centre, Owestry Leisure Centre, Shrewsbury Sports Village and Market Drayton Swimming and Fitness Centre are partnering with Family Action, whose toy appeal last year ensured more than 10,000 children, who may have missed out on a gift, had a present under their Christmas tree.

This year, research from the charity revealed that one in seven – 14 per cent, of parents and carers surveyed said they won’t be able to afford to buy presents for their children this Christmas due to financial constraints.

Rhys Collins, Partnership Manager for the Shropshire Community Leisure Trust said: “We’re very proud to be partnering with Family Action, supporting the amazing work they do all year round to help families throughout the UK and abroad.

"Knowing 14 per cent of parents/carers are saying they cannot afford presents for their children is a heartbreaking statistic, but you can bank on the generosity of the people who work at and visit our centre. We’ll be going all out to collect as many toys as we can.”

David Holmes CBE, Chief Executive of Family Action, said: “Every family deserves comfort and joy at Christmas, but with the high costs of food and utilities, many will find their holiday season stressful and difficult, and it does seem, this year, that Christmas magic is in short supply.

“This is where organisations like Shropshire Community Leisure Trust come in and we want to thank all of their staff and customers for their extremely generous donations. With their support, more families will have a special gift for their children and together, we can keep the magic of Christmas alive.”

Family Action provides emotional and practical support to over 60,000 families across the country, all year round, and the charity’s Toy Appeal, part of the charity’s annual ‘Make Theirs Magic’ campaign, supports families facing financial difficulty at Christmas.

Toy collection boxes will be in the reception areas of each leisure centre until December 11.

After that date, Family Action will collect all items and distribute them around the UK, bringing some much-needed joy to families facing tough times.

For details of all the trust’s sites people can visit https://www.shropshireleisurecentres.com/

People who would prefer to donate a gift of money rather than a toy can do so via the JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/page/family-action-serco-toyappeal2023

All toys are welcome, however these areas are in desperate need of any toys suitable for 1-5 year olds

Shropshire Community Leisure Trust operates four centres in partnership with Serco Leisure and on behalf of Shropshire Council.