by Anna Waite, Reading Family Aid
READING Family Aid helps children in the Reading area living in poverty and with other disadvantages. For example, they may be young carers, or living in a family affected by drug taking, physical abuse, chronic illness or disability, or they may have a disability or illness themselves. We normally distribute toys at Christmas to these children through our Annual Toys & Teens Appeal. In 2019, we delivered gifts to over 2,000 disadvantaged children from 895 families.
In the first three weeks of UK lockdown, it was estimated that a quarter of UK households lost either a substantial part or all of their earned income as a result of Covid. Devastatingly, this has plunged many Reading families into poverty. The charities we work with tell us how many families are struggling to cope right now and relying on food banks. We understand the struggles these families are facing, and every penny we raise will go towards putting a smile on a child’s face and helping all these children to have a happier end to a difficult year.
This year, due to Covid-19, we’re not able to run our appeal in the normal way. So we’re asking our generous supporters to donate money instead of gifts. This money will be used to buy presents which will be delivered directly to the charities helping the families we work with. Please visit our page: www.gofundme.com/f/Reading-Family-Aid-Toys-and-Teens, to donate and share on your social media!
Our fundraising page will remain open until Friday 4 December, after which date the donations will be used to buy presents. Anything you can give, no matter how small, will make a difference to these children at Christmas.