Help Santa find all those without. #ThisWaySanta

QUICK UPDATE -

The 2018 CVS Christmas Toy Appeal has now ended. information on what we are able to achieve will be published here in January 2019.

We at the Community & Voluntary Services are once again holding our Christmas Toy Appeal, now in its 7th year. The appeal is run in aid of Cheshire East children and families that face difficult circumstances this winter and would otherwise may not be able to provide the magical and joyful experience all children should have on Christmas morning in finding presents under the tree.

Read on what was achieved with last year's Toy Appeal here.

Community & Voluntary Services support hundreds of charities, non-profits and community groups throughout the year with guidance and advice on things like governance, funding, volunteering and training. Our position within the voluntary community and faith sector in working with these groups gives us the means to act as a focal point for an appeal like this. Through CVS the general public and private businesses alike can affect a real positive influence in the Cheshire East community.

Please encourage your friends, family and colleagues to support our Christmas Toy Appeal and help Santa find his way to all the Cheshire East children this year.

The toys donated to the appeal will be distributed to registered Cheshire East charities and organisations who work directly with the families and children in need.

Some of those supported are:

- ‘Children with have chaotic home lives with domestic violence and substance misuse a regular occurrence.’

- ‘Families whose loved ones are in hospice for end of life care.’
- ‘Children and young people who care for a member of their family at home, many come from families who are financially disadvantaged.’

To support the appeal we are inviting members of the public and organisations alike to donate toys and gifts to help make Christmas morning magical for as many children as possible. There are a number of ways you can get involved and support the appeal and spread some Christmas cheer.

Quick Navigation

--> Ways to support
--> Donation criteria
--> Suggested toy/gift donations
--> Cash donations/fundraising ideas

--> Collection points near you
--> Appeal deadlines
--> Downloadable support materials
--> Support the appeal on social media
--> Requesting toys for your organisation

--> Pledged Supporters

Ways to support

- You could donate a toy or two to a Toy Appeal collection point near you.
- Hold a toy collection at your place of work.
- Make a donation on the CVS Christmas Toy Appeal, Go Fund Me Donation page
- Hold a fundraiser at work or in your local groups and have toys purchased on your behalf. (See our fundraising ideas)
- Share the appeal information with your friends and family or on social media #ThisWaySanta. (See our social media support area)
- Print out one of our posters and post it on your notice board.

Donation criteria

As we directly support many different charities with this appeal who in turn support children and young people with different needs and requirements, we would like to ensure that all gifts and toys donated are as suable for as many as possible. Please have a quick read of our suggested donation guide.

Brand new or as new items in box only. - We would love to be able to take pre-loved toys, but we can't guarantee the quality and safety of second-hand items, especially those with electronics, those with missing safety instructions and indicated age ranges.

Soft Toys - We all love soft toys and they are a welcome donation, but we do receive a lot more than we receive requests for, if there is a choice to be made on a donation please, consider a boxed gift first.

No war/violent themed gifts - Naturally unsuitable as a portion of the children that are supported by the appeal have been exposed to violence in the home (Comic book superheroes and Star Wars are perfectly fine).

Don't forget the teens - The Christmas Toy appeal supports children of ages 0-15, we gratefully receive lots of donations for babies, toddlers and young children. But often forgotten are the young teens who are equally subject to the hardships that befall families. Gifts such as toiletries/grooming sets, fashionable wear/accessories and winter clothing make great gifts for young teens.

No gift wrap needed - All our donated toys are wrapped by the parents/guardians/carers of the receiving child.

Batteries - If not already included, supplying batteries along with the gift is a great idea, we only ask that the batteries you supply are attached securely to the gift.

Suggested donations

Not sure what to get? We have some perfect ideas: download our suggested donation list, share it with your friends, family and work colleagues.

Monetary donations/fundraising Ideas

The CVS Christmas Toy Appeal also accepts monetary donations alongside toys. Monetary donations will be used to directly purchase toys and gifts on your or your organisation's behalf. Businesses and individuals who supported the appeal in previous years with cash donations found this to be an easier way of contributing.

To get you started we have already come up with a host of fun fundraising ideas you can do at home or at work, including one that might embarrass the boss! download here.

Please contact andrew.luisis@cvsce.org.uk or call 01270 763 100 to arrange donation method, or submit your monetary donation via the Toy Appeal MyDonante webpage

Deadline for all monetary donations is 24th December 2018 (Donations made after 5th December 2018 will be carried forward to the 2019 appeal)

Collection points near you

[CREWE] Community & Voluntary Services (Google Map)
1a Gatefied Street, Crewe, CW1 2JP (Opposite Jubilee Gardens, back of ASDA's car park)

Monday - Friday 9am-5pm

[CREWE] Crewe Alexandra Football Club (Google Map)
The Alexandra Stadium, Gresty Rd, Crewe CW2 6EB

Monday - Friday 9am-5pm

[CREWE] Crewe Lyceum Theatre (Google Map)
Heath St, Crewe CW1 2DA (Crewe Town Centre)

Monday - Saturday 10am-5pm

[CREWE] Weston Centre Business Hub Crewe (Google Map)
The Weston Centre, Weston Road, Crewe CW1 6FL

Monday - Friday 9am-5pm

[NANTWICH] Richmond Villages (Google Map)
St Josephs Way, London Road, Nantwich CW5 6LZ

Monday - Sunday 9am-7pm

[NANTWICH] Nantwich Civic Hall (Google Map)
Market Street, Nantwich, CW5 5DG

Monday - Friday 9am-4.30pm

[SANDBACH] Community & Voluntary Services (Google Map)
11 Hope Street, Sandbach CW11 1BA (2 mins from the cobbles)

Monday - Friday 9am-5pm

[CONGLETON] Congleton Library (Google Map) TBC
Market Square, Congleton, CW12 1ET

Monday 09:00 - 19:00 Tuesday 09:00 - 17:00 Wednesday 9.00 - 13.00 Thursday 09:00 - 19:00 Friday 09:00 - 17:00 Saturday 09:00 - 13:00

[MACCLESFIELD] COS Recruitment Offices (Google Map)

Maxonian House, 3 Chestergate, Macclesfield SK11 6BX

Monday - Friday 9am-5.30pm

Appeal deadlines

To ensure we have enough time to get the donated toys and gifts to the Cheshire East children and families that the appeal supports, please be sure to make your donation by the following dates:

Gift/Toy Donations: 5th December 2018
Monetary Donations: 24th December 2018 (Donations made after 5th December 2018 will be carried forward to the 2019 appeal)

Downloadable support materials

Support the appeal on social media

A very simple way to support the appeal is to spread awareness across Facebook and Twitter.

You can do this by sharing or retweeting some of our own CVS social media posts (@CVSCE on Twitter or CVS Cheshire East on Facebook), writing your own posts using the hash tag #ThisWaySanta, or by using (copy and pasting) some of the pre-written posts we have prepared below.

y8kyuyr4

-- We are proudly donating to the @CVSCE #Christmas #ToyAppeal, #ThisWaySanta https://tinyurl.com/y8kyuyr4

-- Our staff are having great fun raising money for the @CVSCE #Christmas #ToyAppeal, #ThisWaySanta https://tinyurl.com/y8kyuyr4

-- Like/share #retweet this post and help support the @CVSCE #Christmas #ToyAppeal, #ThisWaySanta https://tinyurl.com/y8kyuyr4

-- Supporting the @CVSCE #Christmas #ToyAppeal is a great way to get into the festive sprit #ThisWaySanta https://tinyurl.com/y8kyuyr4

Requesting toys for your organisation

For Cheshire East charities, non-profits and community groups who work direcly with the children, young people and families who could benefit from the appeal, you can request an allocation of donations using the below webform.

Although we will do our best to fulfil all requests, we cannot promise that this will be the case - successful applications depend upon the quantities of toys that are donated. Applications will be treated on a first come first served basis with CVS Members receiving priority.