The Salvation Army’s Christmas Present Appeal: Over 130 children in Batley receive gifts

Every year the church and charity, based on Bradford Road, collects donations of unwrapped gifts which are distributed to vulnerable children who would otherwise have nothing to open on Christmas Day.

This year, Batley Salvation Army distributed gift bags, typically consisting of three small presents, to more than 130 children compared to last year when 52 children received parcels.

Thanks to the generosity of members of the public, including 10-year-old Oscar Sheard from Cleckheaton, who collected and donated more than 200 gifts, these needs have been successfully met.

Captain Mark Cozens, who leads Batley Salvation Army, said: “Our Christmas Present Appeal collects new unwrapped toys to make sure that children aged 0 to 18 have something new to open on Christmas Day.

“Christmas is meant to be a time of joy and hope, but we know that many families haven’t felt that this year due to the cost of living crisis.

“We were braced for there to be more requests for help because when people are making a choice between eating or heating their homes, they simply cannot even begin to factor in the cost of Christmas presents.

“The fact that our referrals have more than doubled compared to last year really does demonstrate how desperate people are and can be a wider indication that people are being pushed into poverty.

“We were also anticipating that our donations would be down this year due to people struggling to find the spare pennies to buy an extra gift or make a donation, but we have been overwhelmed, as we are every year, by the generosity of the community in making sure we can meet the need.

“We also had a very generous gift of more than 200 toys from 10-year-old Oscar, who collected them and along with his mum Emma donated them to us a few weeks ago.

“This really will make such a difference to families across Batley.

“As well as a thank you to everyone who donated, I want to thank our staff and volunteers who work tirelessly to help us sort and pack the gifts so they can be distributed to those in need.”

The Salvation Army have worked with local agencies including schools, social services and health visitors to distribute the gifts.

Batley Salvation Army, which recently celebrated its 141st birthday, will continue to support the community beyond Christmas and has recently opened as a ‘warm space’ on Monday and Thursday mornings between 9.30am and 1pm as part of the Warm Welcome campaign, a network of organisations who are opening their doors to provide a space for people to keep warm this winter.

The charity's Care and Share shop is open Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm selling clothes, bric-a-brac and furniture at discounted prices, and the community café is open Mondays and Thursdays between 9.30am and 1pm serving a selection of sandwiches, soups, cakes and hot drinks at reasonable prices.

Batley Salvation Army also runs children’s activities, a craft group and Bible study, with Sunday Worship taking place at 10am every week.

For more information, visit https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/batley