Generous donations helped spread extra Christmas cheer

Each year East Renfrewshire Council’s Education and Housing departments co-ordinate an appeal to gather gifts for children living in poverty across the area, to ensure they have a gift to open on Christmas day.

It is the fourth time the project has been run and this year more than 500 gifts were donated.

The project involved creating a gift card for each child identified as living in poverty which only outlines their age and gender, so that staff can buy an appropriate gift to donate.

Local schools also got involved in the initiative, with enterprising youngsters at Busby Primary going the extra mile to organise presents for less fortunate children.

A group of Primary 6 and 7 pupils at the school organised a movie evening and raised £100, which was used to create Christmas boxes.

All the gifts will be distributed from December 17, so the presents can all go under the tree in time for Christmas.

Mhairi Shaw, director of Education at East Renfrewshire Council, said: “Christmas is a special time of year, but it’s important to remember that for many children it can be an extremely difficult time too.

“Since starting this project we have been blown away by the generosity of staff and pupils across East Renfrewshire – with so many people coming forward to provide a gift to ensure children who may not get very much have a special present to open on Christmas Day.

“This is just a small gesture which we hope brings a little bit of Christmas cheer to these children’s lives.”