A Glasgow DJ and hotel have teamed up to help save Christmas for 50 families in need.
Scots superstar DJ Frazi.er and Graham Chalmers, who runs Radisson RED Glasgow, wanted to provide 50 kids in danger of missing out on Santa with their dream Christmas present.
The pair are staging a pre-party ahead of Frazi.er’s show at the OVO Hydro on December 30 in Radisson RED Sky Bar, with money raised by ticket sales used to fund the gift drive.
They approached Glasgow Care Foundation who recommended Glasgow’s No1 Baby and Family Support Service, who quickly identified 50 kids whose parents were unable to give them the Christmas they wanted.
Graham said: “I’m a dad of two young girls and to me the thought of any child waking up on Christmas morning to find they didn’t get the gift they dreamed of is heart-breaking. Let alone the idea that some children will get nothing at all.
“Fraz and I did something similar last year and were determined to do all we could to help make kids smile on the big day again.”
Frazi.er added: “Doing this last year was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever been part of, so it was a no-brainer to help out again. Christmas is all about kids so if we can put on a party and make kids smile, we’re happy.”
Glasgow’s No1 Baby and Family Support Service work with families all over Glasgow, taking referrals from the NHS, other organisations and so on.
They have already helped over 2000 families this Christmas and were delighted when the guys offered to buy large gifts for 50 kids.
Audrey Dempsey, founder and boss of GNBFSS, said: “We had committed to so many families this year I was losing sleep worrying about how we could make sure we got something, however small, for these poor kids on Christmas morning.
“Then out of the blue we got a call from the guys, offering the chance for parents to choose whatever their kids wanted up to around £50 each – for these parents, that’s a fortune. Some of them almost couldn’t believe their luck so were reluctant to choose presents as they thought it was too much.
“That call changed everything for a lot of families and for me. It was a gift from above, I am sure of it – Graham and Fraz are an absolute Godsend.
“Being able to give these major presents to 50 children was like lifting a huge weight off me.
“It was wonderful to meet the guys and physically see some of the presents sitting waiting at the Radisson RED – they even wrapped them all for us.
“We are all so grateful and the guys have said they’d like to work with us again in future so we are really excited about that. Nothing beats human kindness – thank you both.”
Parents were asked to come back with anything their kids wanted around the approximate budget, and scooters, football goals and games and Cocomelon toys were popular.
The kids the gifts were bought for ranged from six months old to 16 – because Santa doesn’t believe in age restrictions.
One single dad said: “We are so thankful. The kids… we can’t thank you enough, I can’t really say anything else because I’m so emotional about this, you have really saved Christmas for us all.”
And a single mum said: “I absolutely dreaded Christmas this year – I didn’t know what I was going to do. Then I heard about the charity, got in touch and couldn’t believe my luck when they not only said they could help but offered the chance to get anything my wee one wanted. That kind of luck just doesn’t happen for people like us. I can’t tell you how relieved I am we are going to have a happy Christmas. Thank you.”
Graham said: “Meeting Audrey and learning more about what this amazing charity does every day, not just at Christmas, was truly inspirational. We are really enthusiastic about getting together in January to see where we can help out in other ways through the year.”
And Frazi.er added: “It’s incredible to see what people like Audrey do every single day, so to play a tiny part in helping at Christmas is a privilege.”
For more info on Glasgow’s No1 Baby and Family Support Service visit here.
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