Over the past week, Spectrum has been working with the Renfrewshire Christmas Toy Bank, helping to make sure less fortunate kids in Renfrewshire receive a gift this Christmas.

The Renfrewshire Toy Bank was set up last year by a local mother who realised that whilst some children are given huge amounts of presents, others will receive very little or none at all. The Toy Bank works with Social Work, Barnardo’s Threads, The Star Project, the Food Bank and various other charities to provide Christmas gifts for children from ages 0-18 in Renfrewshire.

Last year, the charity issued 871 presents to less fortunate children in Renfrewshire. The Toy Bank has also done a particularly excellent job making sure many local businesses and organisations in Renfrewshire take part to help collection donations.

It’s a truly saddening fact that too many families find themselves in poverty nowadays, and the festive period can be a particularly difficult and stressful time. Figures released earlier this year by the Office for National Statistics revealed that almost 6,000 children live in ‘workless’ households across Renfrewshire.

Every child deserves to experience the magic of Christmas time. For some, the only gift they receive this year will be from the Toy Bank.

Thanks to all your help and donations, we collected a fantastic number of gifts, from dolls to footballs and light up toys.

Thank you to all our wonderful staff who made donations, it was truly appreciated! There is nothing better than seeing the local community uniting together to help those in need at this time of year.

You can find out more about the work of the Renfrewshire Toy Bank on their Facebook page here.