£600 of donations used to purchase gifts for present appeal
published on 21 Dec 2022
School children use £600 worth of pupil donations to purchase books for Christmas Present Appeal
A Merseyside school has raised money to purchase gifts for a church and charity’s Christmas Present Appeal for vulnerable children across South Sefton.
Pupils from St Mary’s Preparatory School in Crosby, in year groups from reception up to year six, aged five to 11 years old, collected donations totalling £600 to purchase books for The Salvation Army in Bootle’s Christmas Present Appeal.
The annual Christmas Present Appeal calls on members of the local community to add an extra gift to their shopping list for a child that otherwise wouldn’t have anything to open on Christmas Day and the school children took the time to visit a local bookshop and pick out items that they felt would make a child’s Christmas that bit brighter.
Captain Annette Booth, church leader of The Salvation Army in Bootle said: “This heart-warming generosity shown from young children to others is what the Christmas story inspires us to do; loving God and loving others, it is truly wonderful to see it taking place at such a young age.
“We are so grateful that these books were purchased with love and warmth for our appeal, and each will go a long way to making another child’s Christmas special, bringing joy and hope to a lot of children that struggle day in and day out, for various reasons, bringing families, siblings and households together.”
Following the donations phase of the Christmas Present Appeal, The Salvation Army in Bootle sort and distribute gift packages to children and families across South Sefton through its own networks, health visitors, schools and social services.
Denise Davies, specialist community public health nurse for Merseycare, works specifically within school health with children aged five to 19, and has referred children to The Salvation Army’s Christmas Present Appeal for support for many years. She said: “The Salvation Army never lets us down and appeals like this are life-changing for the children, and the families, that we support.”
The appeal provides new and unwrapped gift packages to families so parents and guardians can experience the joy of wrapping the presents themselves if they wish, giving a level of dignity to those receiving the support.
