Festive gifts needed for Care and Share charity

But there’s no elves making and wrapping these gifts, just the dedicated volunteers of this grassroots Blackpool charity.

Care and Share, which is based in Mereside, hands out more than 400 Christmas presents every year.

They provide gifts to a wide variety of local groups and causes, including schools, churches and children’s centres, the town’s homeless hostels, domestic violence units, and recently

arrived refugees.

Saving donations given to the charity throughout the year, supplemented by large donations from companies, organisations and individuals right around the area in the run up to Christmas,

the team make up gifts and hampers which bring smiles to hundreds of faces over the festive season.

Charity founder Linda McEvilly said this year’s wrapping was already well under way.

She said: “We have to get started in November at the very latest if we’re going to put together hundreds of gifts in time for Christmas, while we’re also continuing our every day

commitments of providing essentials for people in need.

“We want to provide something lovely that people will really enjoy opening, so the gifts have a selection of items such as a toy and some sweets for the kids, smellies and a book for the

adults for example.

“We’re so very grateful for everyone who has kindly provided something for the Christmas hampers and want them to know that their donation is going to help make someone’s Christmas.

“I also have to say a massive thank you to the heroes like Paula McKee and Carole Cox, and our friends at the local churches and community organisations who pitch in throughout

December, without whom we simply couldn’t do what we do.”

While the gift wrapping is in full swing, the volunteers are still happy to accept donations, in particular boxes of biscuits, chocolates, along with toiletries, hats, scarves and gloves, and any

new or good-as-new children’s toys.

To make a donation contact Linda via Facebook or visit 5 Tarnside, Mereside, weekdays between 11am and 1pm.