The Salvation Army’s Christmas Present Appeal: Cleckheaton Tesco donates over 200 toys to help the most vulnerable

Kind-hearted customers and colleagues from the Northgate store have collected 215 toys and gifts as part of The Salvation Army Heckmondwike Christmas Present Appeal.

This comes after Tesco Cleckheaton presented the charity with a Golden Grant of £10,000 earlier this year.

Major Ray Mackereth of Heckmondwike Salvation Army said: “As well as a generous monetary donation from Tesco and their customers earlier this year which we were able to put towards Heckmondwike Salvation Army’s Christmas Present Appeal, they have also donated more than 200 toys for which we want to say a big thank you.

“This has allowed us to help even more families this year and make sure that some of the most vulnerable children in our community who would otherwise have nothing to open on Christmas Day have gifts.

“With demand high due to the soaring cost of living, we are very grateful for donations like this that have helped make sure we can meet the increased need.”

In addition to the toy donations, the store also hosted a Christmas Raffle, with all proceeds donated to the Heckmondwike Salvation Army.

Melanie Smiles, community champion at the Cleckheaton Tesco store, said: “Cleckheaton customers kindly donated 215 toys and gifts which were handed over to our local Heckmondwike branch of the Salvation Army.

“These will be distributed to local families that have fallen on hard times, schools and local organisations that help look after the less fortunate and vulnerable within our community.”

The Salvation Army has sorted and distributed the gifts to children and families across the area through their networks, local groups and social services.

For more information about the Salvation Army’s Heckmondwike branch, visit https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/heckmondwike

For more information about the work that Tesco does in local communities, visit https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/communities/community-champions/