Hundreds of gifts, donated by generous St David’s Cardiff shoppers, were delivered to children’s charity Sparkle this week by very special guests, Newport County AFC players Padraig Amond and Ben Tozer.
The delivery of over 600 gifts, including toys from the likes of Hamleys, Lego and Disney, were delivered by a team of festive helpers, who were accompanied by the players, giving the children an extra special Christmas surprise.
Running until 22 December, the Toy Appeal is supporting twenty charities across South Wales, and nearly 6,500 gifts have been donated so far. Throughout the campaign, charities will receive thousands of toys to spread a little festive cheer to children and families who need it most.
Padraig commented: “We had a great day visiting the children supported by Sparkle and delivering toys – to see their excitement was very special. Sparkle undertake such incredible work in the community that we jumped at the chance to support them this Christmas, and it’s really filled us with the festive spirit.”
Sparkle, based at the Serennu Children’s Centre in Newport, helps children and young people in Gwent with a disability or developmental difficulty. The centre provides access to lots of different services and care from doctors, therapists, nurses and psychologists to social workers, family liaison officers and play workers all under one roof. This means that children don’t have to travel to lots of different places for their treatment and care, providing consistency and support to the whole family.
Steven Madeley, General Manager for St David’s, said: “Sparkle provides invaluable care to families in Newport, and we are absolutely thrilled to welcome Padraig and Ben to the toy drop off. The generosity of our shoppers truly brings the spirit of Christmas to life – we aren’t far off hitting the amount donated last year, and we have a few weeks still to go. It’s very overwhelming to see so many people paying it forward and bringing fantastic gifts to the centre every day, so we’d like to say a big thank you to everyone.”
Shoppers who want to take part can head to one of two Donation Stations at St David’s, the first located near the Clogau store on the lower level and the second near Watches of Switzerland. There they will be able to collect a Christmas treat and an exclusive 10 per cent off voucher for purchases at Hamleys.
For more information on the Toy Appeal, visit stdavidscardiff.com/ToyAppeal or join in the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #SDToyAppeal
The Club would also like to say an enormous thank you to everyone who donated a Toy to the Club's Toy Drop on Saturday. Your generosity will make a child's day when we visit the Paediatric Ward later this month.
Massive THANK YOU to everyone who donated a gift at our Toy Drop for the Royal Gwent Hospital Paediatric Ward. We have bags and bags of fantastic toys and gifts to take with us when we visit the hospital later this month. #OneClubOneCounty 🎁🎄
— Newport County AFC (@NewportCounty) December 9, 2017