Help bring joy to local children through Gift a Toy

Tesco customers are being encouraged to support local charities and community groups in their area this Christmas by donating toys at their local store in Northern Ireland.

Tesco customers are being encouraged to support local charities and community groups in their area by donating toys at their local store in Northern Ireland.

From November 9 to December 20, large and selected express Tesco stores across the UK are holding toy collections for new and unwrapped toys purchased in store, which local charities will then distribute to children who may otherwise go without.

Each local charity or community group receiving support has been chosen by store colleagues having built up connections through their store’s support for the local community.

Just some of the organisations set to receive support are Ty Hafan Children’s Hospice, which provides care for children suffering life-limiting conditions, Amelia’s Rainbow, which supports families of disabled children with grants for mobility equipment, and Caister Community Larder, which provides food for local families in need. A wide range of children’s hospital wards, local foodbanks and the Salvation Army are also set to benefit.

Claire De Silva, Tesco Head of Communities, said: “Throughout the year our stores play a huge role in supporting their local communities. The annual toy donation campaign is a wonderful way to make a difference at Christmas and that’s all down to the hard work and generosity of our customers and colleagues. It's great to see stores building on their local connections to support charities making a difference locally to ensure that every child experiences the magic of Christmas.”

Over 800 large Tesco stores across the UK will have a dedicated donation point where customers can donate new and unwrapped toys that have been purchased in store. For the first time, the collection has been expanded to large Express stores.

Last Christmas Tesco customers donated more than 100,000 toys to make sure no child should have to go without a special gift this Christmas.

Tesco already supports children to get access to healthy food during school time through its Free Fruit and Veg for Schools programme with 20 million portions of fruit and veg already donated from local stores. The programme aims to support more than 347,000 children in over 1,000 schools over the next year.

In addition to Free Fruit & Veg for Schools, Tesco is also supporting schools and kids' groups through its Fruit & Veg Grants blue token scheme where customers have the chance to vote in store to award funding to their favourite community groups.