As many of you may already know, Fiona Linton from the Maths Department has been running the ‘Not the Christmas toy collection’ for the past sixteen years at Warwick.

Usually this means asking friends and colleagues to add an extra gift into shopping trollies in the run up to Christmas. It’s never been about big expensive gifts, but rather the act of giving and ultimately a vulnerable child receiving. The gifts go to children and young people aged 0-18 in Coventry, who live at home in difficult situations and unfortunately often poverty.

Fiona, along with the Participation Team at Coventry Council, would then ensure that those gifts given by our Warwick community are passed on to vulnerable children in Coventry. Fiona says:

“This year Christmas will likely be very different for all of us, but those children and young people still deserve to receive a gift. Perhaps this year more than ever. The Warwick community has the opportunity to come together once again to make sure those children won’t miss out on a Christmas present”

For 2020 the ‘Not the Christmas toy collection’ is going digital. As we are under our second lockdown, the Participation Team are unable to accept the toys Fiona and the team would normally collect. So this year Fiona is asking the Warwick community to kindly donate to her Go Fund Me page.

Any donations, big or small, are gratefully received and will go towards giving those children a gift at Christmas and putting a smile on their faces. Fiona is already halfway to the target of £5,000 and would love your help to reach that goal.

Once the collection closes on 30 November, all the donations will be transferred to the Participation Team, who will organise the purchase and distribution of gifts to children and young people in and leaving care and vulnerable children still living in the community via their Social and Family Workers.

Last year over Fiona and the team received over 600 gifts and a donation of money which funded Play Stations and games for each of the Coventry Children’s Homes, along with specific gifts for children living in those homes.

Thank you on behalf of those children and young people to the Warwick community for your continued generosity and support of this year’s ‘Not the Christmas Toy Collection’.