Christmas Giving Campaign helps local families
Thank you for all your donations to this year’s Epping Forest Christmas Giving Campaign.
Your kind contributions provided Christmas presents to over 300 local children.
The Epping Forest Christmas Giving Campaign 2024 collected almost 1000 donated presents.
The gifts are given to families who have been identified by local schools and frontline children and family service providers as needing extra support over the festive period.
Partnership working
The campaign is organised by Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) and Essex Police. Staff and volunteers from each organisation joined forces on 12 and 13 December to wrap and distribute gifts to local schools and refuges.
Also giving their time to help wrap presents, organise and distribute the gifts were team members from Qualis Group Ltd, The Jenna Wilkins Foundation, Epping Forest Citizens Advice, Epping Forest Schools Partnership Trust, Epping District Team Ministry, Roding Rotary, Safer Places and EFDC staff, Councillors and Community Champions.
Staff and volunteers wrapping the donated presents
Charitable donations
Members of the public and staff and volunteers from several local community partnership organisations, including local Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons and Aldi supermarkets donated gifts.
Gifts and wrapping paper also arrived from Boots, Forest Pets Food, Frankland Jewellers, Card Factory, WHSmith, Max Photos, Benefit, SpaceNK, Bababoo, Café Nero, Moles, Flannels, M&S, Hutchins Pharmacy, Barnards Jewellers, Molens Café and Brasserie, Tony’s Hardware, William Hill (toys) and The Works in Loughton and Debden; Rosewood Chemist, Card Factory, Victoria Jewellers, Amy Louise, House 2 Home, Spirit, Bookers and the Co-op in Epping; Theydon Bois Pharmacy and Wells Pharmacy in Ongar.
Waltham Abbey Football Club donated over £200 worth of presents to the campaign.
Thank you
Chairman of Epping Forest District Council, Councillor Les Burrows said:
Thank you so much to everyone who donated an extra gift, money or their time to this year’s campaign.
Your generosity continues to amaze as this campaign grows year on year. It shows the compassion and community spirit across the district which means more children will receive a present on Christmas Day.
I’d also like to say a big thank you to all the staff and volunteers, who work so hard to organise and deliver all the gifts.
A worthy campaign
Councillor Kaz Rizvi, EFDC Cabinet Member for Community, Health and Wellbeing said:
This worthy campaign brings so much joy to so many families across the district. I am so grateful to everyone involved for coming together to help others in need. Thank you!
We know many people continue to struggle with the cost of living and added pressures of ‘keeping up with trends’, this campaign helps ease some of those pressures and puts the magic back into Christmas.
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