Thousands of donations were made over Christmas as part of Lincolnshire Co-operative’s Secret Santa scheme, via organisations such as children’s charities, food banks and domestic abuse services.
The campaign aimed to “inspire the gift of giving and lift community spirit” over the festive period by giving members, customers and colleagues the opportunity to donate food, toiletries and toys to those who needed it via 72 different charities.
As well as running donation drives at venues such as Lincoln City Football Club and the Lincolnshire Showground, the retail society gathered donations via drop-off points in its food stores, pharmacies and travel branches. Christmas trees in Lincolnshire’s travel shops were decorated with gift tags including details like a child’s age and gender to guide donation choices.
At least 3,345 presents have been donated to 14 toy banks through the scheme, and 60 colleagues across the co-op volunteered to wrap gifts donated to Travel’s Toy Bank, such as in Market Rasen where presents were wrapped for over 100 children.
Other branches also made an impact on the campaign, such as Lincolnshire’s Coningsby food store which donated over 100 toys to Barnardos.
Emma Relton, Coningsby food store manager, said: “The generous response from my team has been so overwhelming and it brings me a huge sense of pride that everyone’s so committed to supporting their community; they all make me smile every day.
“There’s no better time to spread joy than during the festive season, and I hope we have inspired others to spread the magic of Christmas.”
Other charities that received donations through the scheme include Grantham Food Bank, Bridge Church, and Haven Domestic Abuse Service, which offers support and free housing to victims of domestic abuse, including toiletry hampers for new arrivals.
Chloe Waters, funding and communications manager at Haven Domestic Abuse Service, said: “On behalf of everyone at Haven, I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to those who have donated towards the Secret Santa campaign in Lincolnshire Co-op pharmacies.
“Every donation will make a huge difference over Christmas to the families we are supporting, especially when providing them with toiletry hampers upon arrival to our refuge.”
Sam Turner, community manager at Lincolnshire Co-op, said: “It has been wonderful yet emotional to see the generous response from our communities, and how everyone can come together to help those in need provide for their families over Christmas.
“Thank you to everyone who has made a donation, to our colleagues and volunteers for using their own time to help wrap presents, and to our outlets for providing drop-off points.”
