A family who donates mountains of presents to children living in poverty are worried kids might not wake up to a Christmas card this year.
In 2013, Claire Wilcox from Lydiate sat with her family and shared a heartbreaking thought with them. She said: "Can you imagine not being in a position where you could buy a child a Christmas present and they wake up to nothing".
After not being able to shake the thought, Claire and her husband, Kevin, along with their four kids started raising money to buy presents for families living in poverty in Merseyside. Each year the fundraising effort has grown, with the family being able to donate a total of 350 gifts to the Salvation Army in 2021.
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This year, Claire's 19-year-old daughter, Molly, has decided to take a prominent role in the appeal after seeing the good her mum and step-dad have done over the years.
She told The ECHO: "I was 10 when my mum and dad started this, and as we have grown up it has shown me and my three siblings just how lucky we are. We have never had to wonder if we will get a single present on Christmas and I can’t imagine how it must feel for children to feel like this.
"As I've got older I've now seen the other side of it, and I'm starting to see how much things cost and I really want to do everything I can to help. I completely understand this year is going to be so much harder with the cost of living crisis as the cost of gifts is going up along with everything else.
"If people can't spare a few pounds, it would be great for them to share the appeal so it can reach five more people. It would mean the world to us."
On one year of the appeal, the family were told about a particularly heartbreaking story about a family they were able to help.
Molly said: "There was a death of a parent and the young children involved, and the other parent, were fighting to pay bills and afford to live, as well as looking after the kids. There was just no money left for Christmas as a result.
"They were worrying as they didn’t want the children on top of losing their parent, to be thinking why didn’t Santa come to me when I haven’t done anything wrong. They also didn’t want them to wake up with nothing on Christmas morning with how hard everything already was for them.
"There’s hundreds of stories in all different circumstances that are just as hard to hear, and for any child to wake up with nothing on Christmas morning is a heartbreaking story in itself. To know these stories are probably going to be much worse this year because of the cost of living crisis is horrible.
"Some children might wake up and not even have a Christmas card."
The family have set us a JustGiving page for people to donate to their Christmas appeal. One they have completed their appeal the family will ask the Salvation Army which age groups they need presents for, and will go to B&M to purchase gifts.
The Salvation Army will then give the presents to in need. To donate click here.
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