Our 11th Sleigh2Give Christmas Appeal sees its first handover of the festive campaign next week.
On November 6th we will be handing over our first donations from our Christmas 2025 drive to the brilliant Be Free Young Carers.
Giving back to BFYC in such small but important and vital ways means a lot to us and especially our charity founder and chair, Andy.
Andy was a young carer himself throughout his childhood to his disabled mum, back then in the days BFYC was based in Didcot and known as South and Vale Carers.
Even as an adult now, Andy continues in his unpaid carer role to his mum, along with his own daily challenges of his own disabilities and health condition including his brain injuries.
Many of our Didcot donation points including Berro Lounge No.33 on GWP
Coronet Bingo and Cornerstone Arts Centre as well as The Lambourn centre, part of Mantle Space Ltd, run by the wonderful Amanda Winfield, on Abingdon business park, have gone live with our boxes for donations of all new toys and gifts this year’s campaign.
Earlier this year we provided lots of tasty treats and chocolate delights for young carers with Easter eggs, and a £150 donation so the fantastic BFYC team could buy even more, as part our fifth record-breaking 1,700 plus Easter egg amnesty.
We have also raised around £1k for BFYC in the past, and in past Christmases provided mountains of new toys and presents, as can be seen in some throwback pictures from 2019 and 2020.
Sleigh2Give is all about spreading cheer, joy and smiles at Christmas each year to those less fortunate, in need, the vulnerable like young carers and adults with brain injuries and of course our amazing Oxford Children’s Hospital, neonatal care unit and hospices like Sobell House, and is now in its 12th festive drive.
Our donation box will also soon be out at the Civic Hall in Didcot, and further public collection points continue to be added – and the list of businesses, schools and places adding their support to our 12th festive appeal also continues to grow.
For more information about this appeal, hundreds of heartwarming pictures from over a decade of gift giving and toy runs, or details of how to get involved such as collections or to reach out and be a public drop off point, please visit our website or e-mail us.
Together with your help, our fantastic community and public, we can brighten a thousand faces this Christmas with the simple joy of a toy or gift that makes all the difference at the most difficult, toughest and challenging times, such as the remarkable, courageous and resilient young carers
Thank you as always for all of the amazing support and kind hearted generosity that we receive, not just at Christmas, but all year round in changing, transforming, and saving lives across Oxfordshire.