Shoppers in the West Midlands thanked as Co-op Christmas Toybox Appeal sees over 12,000 presents donated to help families make Christmas special

Posted by james brindle | Published: 24/12/2020


Central England Co-op customers and members have helped to bring smiles to children’s faces this festive period by donating over 12,000 presents and stocking fillers as part of the retailer’s special Christmas toy appeal.

The items were dropped off at special donation points located in all 262 stores across 16 counties through November and December as shoppers took on the challenge in these uncertain times to give children who may otherwise have gone without a gift to unwrap on Christmas Day.

All of the presents were then shared out via local charities, community groups, food banks and hospices who handed them to as many children as possible to help spread much-needed festive cheer.

In the West Midlands, thousands of toys were delivered to organisations and good causes based in Birmingham including Birmingham Salvation Army, The Active Wellbeing Society and Bethany Food Bank in Erdington.

Meanwhile, Central England Co-op made a special donation of 200 brand-new scooters to charity Family Action at its base in Bartley Green which will be distributed to families they work with across the city in time for Christmas Day.

The scooter donation comes on top of a donation the retailer made directly to the charity last month of hundreds of toys and games, as well as toys donated by customers and members through the Toybox Appeal.

David Holmes CBE, Chief Executive said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to Central England Co-op for their very generous donation of 200 fantastic scooters. We know that the children we support will have so much fun on the scooters and these lovely gifts will help make all their Christmases more magical.”

Debbie Robinson, Central England Co-op Chief Executive, said: “On behalf of everyone involved with our Society, I want to say a big thank you to every customer, member and colleague who helped make our Christmas Toybox Appeal another incredible success.

“It is incredibly humbling that kind-hearted people in our communities have donated over 12,000 brand new presents and stocking fillers that are now going to bring smiles to the faces of thousands of youngsters up and down the country as they wake up on Christmas morning.

“We are so overwhelmed by the generosity shown by everyone who has supported this campaign and proud to be involved with some truly inspiring local good causes and charities who work not just at Christmas but all year round to make sure children get great support when they need it most.

“Thank you to everyone who has helped us here at Central England Co-op to give over 12,000 children a gift they will never forget this Christmas.”

Items donated in store during the appeal included puzzles, games, soft toys, outdoor toys, books, dolls/figures, CDs/DVDs and art materials, and even children’s bicycles.

Stacey Ennis, from the Active Wellbeing Society, said: “The Active Wellbeing Society would like to say a heartfelt thank you to our partners Central England Co-op.

“Their Christmas Toybox appeal has enabled us to distribute toys out to families who would have faced a very bleak Christmas this year.

“The families we are delivering to a very vulnerable, these toys will make a such a difference for the Children’s Christmas and a happier ending to what has been a most difficult year.”

 

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.

Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish.  

Our 7,900 colleagues who serve Members and customers work hard to ensure that co-operative values, principles and spirit flow through everything we do to help support and improve our local communities.

Owned by hundreds of thousands of Members, we have over 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. 

We are proud of our reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.

We invest a percentage of our trading profit into local communities through our Community Dividend Fund scheme, have donated over £1.4 million to our corporate charity partner Dementia UK and also operate a pioneering food redistribution partnership with FareShare Midlands so unsold food goes to those in need.

Visit www.centralengland.coop for more information or follow us on Facebook or Twitter using @mycoopfood

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

Phone - 01543 421390

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop