A dancing tree and an Elf joined Santa to help spread Christmas cheer to poorly children and their families at Oxford Children’s Hospital this Christmas.
The ninth ‘Sleigh2Give’ appeal saw over 1,000 presents delivered to brighten up the faces of young patients, families and siblings across the Children’s Hospital and neonatal care, Ronald McDonald House, Helen and Douglas House hospice and to children with disabilities in respite at Oxford’s Viking House.
This year’s campaign – the festive arm of Didcot-born charity, Play2Give launched in September and has seen another successful county-wide drive, with donations even coming from as far afield as Plymouth.
The Sleigh2Give initiative created in 2015 was originally an idea devised as an one-off Christmas toy appeal in collaboration with the Didcot supermarket, Sainsbury’s.
This year has seen more presents donated than ever before, with more organisations, businesses, groups, schools, restaurants and shops than any previous year join the campaign, which is all about spreading cheer, joy and smiles to those in hospital, hospices, the vulnerable and less fortunate. It is estimated that over 1,600 gifts worth around £50,000 will have been received and distributed out – with one Wallingford resident, Lee Crook, making a big stride in the Christmas fundraising with over £700 raised as part of a month-long 10,000-steps walk throughout November.