Sefton Mayor Cllr June Burns has today praised the generosity of Sefton residents and businesses as it is revealed the annual Christmas Toy Appeal supported 1297 children this year with gifts and toys donated by the community.

From arts and crafts sets, books, dinosaurs and prams to toiletries, pyjamas and scooters; the response to the 2024 appeal was overwhelming.

Overwhelming response

To showcase the impact of this appeal on children in Sefton, this year, the team spoke to social workers who know our families well to tell us about the difference the Mayor’s Toy Appeal makes to them, you can watch it here

Cllr June Burns, Mayor of Sefton said:

“Every year I am blown away by the generosity of people in Sefton. Year in, year out, this appeal goes above and beyond my expectations and this year was no different.

“Hundreds of people and groups held coffee mornings, raised awareness and funds, collected donations and made this appeal so successful and all I can say is thank you. Your kindness made Christmas even more special for families in Sefton and to see such community spirit on show was truly inspiring.”

The donations came from the community from day one of the appeal with the Santa’s elves doing multiple collections as our donation points overflowed with gifts. The thousands of toys and gifts donated included some stand out gifts; some beautiful pink princess shoes, a haul of hand knitted teddy bears and even two pairs of AirPods!

Huge number of families 

Local businesses donated thousands of pounds to enable the team to buy pyjamas, tech and toiletries for older children and the sheer volume of gifts enabled the appeal to support a huge number of families this year.