THE Salvation Army in the Forest was presented with Christmas gifts for struggling families by housing association staff.
But the church and charity says it is still desperate for more donations as only around half of the 1,200 families it has been asked to support are currently covered.
Staff at the Two Rivers Housing Association have supported the Salvation Army’s present appeal for more than five years and recently gave more than 80 gifts including books, dolls, toys and board games.
Major Vivienne Prescott, the commanding officer of the Forest of Dean Salvation Army, collected the gifts from the association’s head office in Newent.
She told staff :“You make such a difference to our appeal, but more importantly to the children who will wake up to your donated gift on Christmas morning.
“Working with you as we do throughout the year is an absolute joy, together the positive impact on our community is so much stronger. God bless you all.”
Two Rivers Housing Deputy Chief Executive, Carol Dover thanked the team for their generous donations and was on hand to help carry the gifts to Vivienne’s car.
She said: “As a community-based housing association, we have a clear role to play in supporting our communities that goes beyond providing warm, safe affordable homes.
“We work with the Salvation Army throughout the year to support vulnerable people in our communities but our team are always keen to do more particularly at Christmas.
“The kindness and generosity of our team who pay for and bring in gifts for the Christmas Present Appeal every year is wonderful to see.
“Thank you to everyone who donated, it will make a real difference to local families this season.”
A new appeal for more gifts has gone out after the number of donations being made slowed down.
Major Prescott said: “This is an urgent plea to our community.
“We are desperately running out of toys and gifts, specifically for boys and girls aged 0-6 years and teenagers from 12 to 17years.
“We have only packed half of our referrals and have depleted most of our stock with over 600 children still to go.
“We’re urgently appealing to everyone - individuals, businesses, and organisations - to help us meet this incredible demand.
“Christmas is a time for joy and giving, and no child should feel forgotten.
“I can’t imagine what it would be like to wake up on Christmas Day without a present, it’s very sad.
“With the support of our community, we can ensure that every one of these 600 children wakes up to something special on Christmas morning. Donations are needed right away – we distribute gifts as early as we can so that families don’t worry about Christmas and get themselves into debt.”
People can drop off their contributions from tonight (Wednesday) until Friday at the Salvation Army headquarters in North Road, Broadwell, Coleford GL16 7BX .
Donations can also be made through their Amazon page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/2MKQKAHJ2IX8P...