Christmas Toy Appeal: Santa Claus steps in with special delivery

Delighted children facing Christmas in hospital were full of smiles as Santa himself appeared with sacks full of presents, and it is all thanks to your generosity.

We have been overwhelmed by the support of our communities who answered our call and are providing Christmas cheer for poorly children and families affected by the Caparo job losses literally by the sack load.

From local football clubs to toy retailers big and small, unions, local businesses and our kind readers, we have been more than overwhelmed with toy donations for our appeal, launched four weeks ago. And this week, along with our partners Storage King, we are handing out the many new toys and gifts left at our drop-off points.

This week our very own Santa Claus loaded his sleigh full with goodies and helped deliver them to poorly children who aren't fortunate enough to spend Christmas day at home.

With gifts from a wide range of different sources, the project have supported a host of causes across the Black Country and beyond.

Your generosity will mean hundreds of youngsters will wake up on Christmas morning with a smile on their face. Here's who you have helped.

Caparo workers

A total of 323 have lost their jobs after steel giant Caparo shut down three Black Country plants last month. Workers at five sites in Darlaston, Oldbury, Dudley, West Bromwich and also Cradley Heath were laid off.

A lot of workers will be in turmoil over financing Christmas this year but your kindness will make the big day that little bit easier for many.

Acorns

Among the donations many of them have taken the form of second-hand goods. These have been donated to Acorns Hospice and sold in their stores all over the West Midlands.

The charity provides much needed care for babies, children and young people from zero to 18 with life-limiting or life threatening conditions and support for their families.

In the last year, they have supported over 760 children and more than 980 families across the region.

Russells Hall, New Cross, Walsall Manor, and Sandwell Hospitals

The donations will help children including young people at paediatric wards at hospital in Dudley, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Sandwell.

Between them, a total of 320 toys were evenly distributed between all of the hospitals and will go to children as young as newborns up until teenagers just short of their 18th birthday.

The gifts you have donated have supported children from newborn babies up to the age of 18 years old in paediatric wards at New Cross, Walsall Manor, Russell's Hall and Sandwell hospitals, including the likes of four-year-old Jenson, who thanks to the donations will wake up on Christmas morning with a brand new toy.

Georgie Westley, membership and engagement manager at Walsall Manor Hospital, said: "Staying in hospital isn't nice for a child at any time of year, even more so at Christmas and we rely on donations and goodwill to help raise their spirits over the festive period.

"We would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to the Express and Star and Storage King for working together to donate this generous gift of toys to our paediatric patients, which will certainly make their Christmas extra special on the ward."

From the donations we received, 80 individual toys have been taken to or collected by the hospitals where they will pick the right recipient and wrap them in time for the big day this Friday.

We are also in the process of handing out toys to the families of the 300 Caparo workers who were made redundant just before the festive period.

As well as the new toys donated, many second-hand toys were handed in which are going to Acorns Hospice.

The charity will sell the toys in their shops to support their work caring for young people with life-limiting illnesses and their families.

Deputy editor of the Express & Star, Diane Davies, thanked all those who donated to or supported the campaign for their generosity. She said: "When we launched the campaign we were relying on the generosity of the Black Country communities who we know come together at times like this to help others. But we had no idea just how kind and generous people would be. It is overwhelming and incredibly heart warming.

"We have had the support of many football clubs, big and small toy shops, union branches and so many readers who have literally dragged bags of toys to the drop-off points.

"The response has been amazing and I am very proud of our readership.

"Watching those children's faces as Santa arrived at the hospital is exactly the reason why we launched the appeal."

The campaign has had backing from many big names and stars of stage and TV and sport, including Sir Lenny Henry, the Chuckle Brothers, Wolves players past and also present and Baggies boss Tony Pulis.