Good morning. Welcome back to Survival Guide. Isabella here.

If you have been in a Lidl supermarket recently, you might have noticed crates at the front labelled ‘toy bank’. It’s a place where you can donate toys, bought in the shop or elsewhere, to children in need.

Toy appeals like this have been running for years, but they have become increasingly in demand following the pandemic and the cost of living crisis. 

And they are vital. It means that children facing poverty and neglect can experience a magical Christmas just like their friends. 

In this newsletter, we meet Dee Drake, who started up a toy appeal with her husband 12 years ago because they couldn’t have children. They now help thousands of kids in the North West get sacks of presents at Christmas, and what they are doing is incredibly special. 

Dee has been unwell this year, and the toy appeal has kept her going. She told me that she just wants to get through the next few weeks, because she cannot let those kids down.

If you read to the end of this newsletter, you’ll find out how you can donate to toy appeals like these, if you can.

If you have a story to share, we want to listen. Get in touch at isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com or share your story here.

Toy appeals are helping Santa reach every child at Christmas

Thousands of children in poverty in North West England will wake up to sacks of toys on Christmas morning, thanks to hundreds of volunteers who have worked tirelessly through the year. They buy, wrap and deliver the presents to food banks, schools, women’s refuges and social services to reach families in need.

“Every child should enjoy the magic of Christmas,” says Dee Drake, the founder of The Toy Appeal. “No child should have to worry about poverty or neglect. They should be enjoying their childhood. But life isn’t like that. We give a little joy on Christmas Day.”

Dee and her husband Chris launched The Toy Appeal 12 years ago, wanting to find a new purpose after discovering they could not have children. In its first year, they helped 500 children, and by this Christmas, they will have reached more than 65,000. This year alone, 10,700 kids will get a toy sack.

“I absolutely love it. It’s my baby. It’s my passion,” Dee says. “I’ve been really ill this year, in and out of hospital, and I didn’t know if I was going to make it in the summer. 

“My main reason to get better was to get these toys sent out. A lot of it is in my head, and it would be very hard to hand over to someone else. I’ve got to get it written down next year, just in case.

Dee couldn’t wait to get started on The Toy Appeal after a two-week stint in hospital last month. “My brain’s still working. It’s just suddenly my body is a mess,” she says. 

“It’s invigorated me. I know I’ve got to pace myself. I do a little bit, then I go and lie down. But we’ve got a deadline. I can’t let it fail. I can’t let those kids down.”

Read about Dee’s story and more toy appeals here.

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How to donate toys and gifts to children in need this Christmas

There is no pressure to give anything this Christmas – but if you can afford to, donating to a toy appeal can help a child have a special day.

The Toy Appeal doesn’t accept donations of toys, but you can donate cash through their JustGiving page.

Other options include Lidl’s ‘toy banks’, the Entertainer and Salvation Army’s toy appeal, or donating to other children’s charities, many of which are running Christmas campaigns. 

We’ve got a full round-up here. This is just a small selection of toy appeals running across the country, and there will be many more as we approach Christmas. Keep an eye out on how you can support organisations near you, or you could even set up your own toy appeal.

This Christmas, you can make a lasting change to a vendor's life. Buy a magazine from your local vendor in the street every week, if you can’t reach them, buy a Big Issue Vendor Support Kit.