Gresham’s annual Christmas campaign to buy gifts for disadvantaged children in partnership with the Barnardo’s Children’s Centres in Wythenshawe has begun, with this year’s present haul being the biggest to date. 6 members of our team have completed their annual trip to the shops to buy presents for children in the local area, with all funds donated by the team and our Directors.
This year the team spent the morning buying toys, clothing and gifts for a total of 32 children – more than double the number we were able to buy for last year. As well as the Directors boosting their contribution to the gift fund, many members of staff also increased their donations.
In this, the fifth year the firm has supported the local Barnardo’s Children’s Centres in Wythenshawe, the bumper crop of presents has also been added to with a number of presents donated by our team members for the deserving Mums.
Our festive charity gift campaign started in 2014 after Samantha, who is a Paraplanner on our technical team, suggested that instead of spending money on novelty gifts, each member of the team instead contributed their secret Santa spend to a central pot that could be used for a more meaningful cause.
Wanting to keep things local, we found Wythenshawe Barnardo’s Children’s Centres. Each year, the Barnardo’s teams at the Children’s Centres in Wythenshawe supply us a list of children from disadvantaged backgrounds, along with their ages, to allow us to select appropriate gifts. The presents are then delivered to the children by the Barnardo’s team in Wythenshawe in time for Christmas Day.
Morven Millar, Director at Gresham, commented:
“This is the fifth year we’ve supported our local Barnardo’s Children’s Centres and it’s a tradition that brings us great pride and gratification. The team love going out to buy the gifts and when they bring their haul back for gift wrapping, it brings some real Christmas cheer to the whole team.
“Knowing that the time and effort spent will bring some festive cheer to children on Christmas Day helps to bring the real meaning of the festive season into focus. Forget the Christmas do, advent calendars and novelty gifts, this is what Christmas is really about.”