Thousands of children in Rotherham will once again wake up with big smiles on Christmas morning thanks to the town’s very own Mrs Claus and her team of elves.
For over 30 years, Ann Levick, founder of Rotherham Families First, has been co-ordinating the Rotherham Christmas Toy Appeal to ensure that no child goes without a present at Christmas.
Since the appeal was launched in 1991, it has continued to bring the town together. Generous individuals, businesses, schools and churches from across the borough keep on giving, year after year.
In the lead up to Christmas, visitors to Parkgate Shopping can select a tag off one of the giving trees dotted around the site and buy a gift for that child. Unwrapped items can then be dropped off at any of the stores.
Last year, your donations meant that 2,254 vulnerable or underprivileged children under 18 received a Christmas gift. And this year looks set to be another busy year for the toy appeal elves.
“My Christmas wish is that there isn’t a need for the toy appeal in 2025. But there’s more need for it now than there was thirty years ago,” Ann says.
Since 2017, the toy appeal has been organised by Ann and a small team of volunteers at Rotherham Families First, a charity she set up to provide pre-loved clothing, toys and household items to those facing hardship.
But in the beginning, it was launched by the council’s children and families service, where Ann worked as a family support worker. Initially, the toy appeal provided second hand toys to families in one specific area, but this was extended when the service was restructured a few years later. It’s been borough-wide for the last twenty years.
“In the early days, we’d put up leaflets in GP surgeries in that area so that families knew they could access help if they were struggling to buy Christmas gifts. But most families were referred to the appeal by their social workers.
“I also organised things like ‘bring a tin to work’ days for the Christmas hampers we gave out. I’d get up early before work and spend hours knelt, filling the hampers up with staple foods and luxuries for the families.
“We did a furniture scheme where you could get three items for £10 and we’d store all the donations in the upstairs rooms of whatever house we were based in at the time. It was constantly busy, but I can’t see kids go without,” she says.
One year, Ann even organised a free overnight trip to Lapland for 50 families, thanks to the Family Holidays Association.
Support in the early days came from local libraries and organisations like the Lions and Scouts clubs, or benevolent members of the public who’d send cheques for thousands of pounds each year. This meant that Ann could buy new toys for the children who were referred to the appeal.
“It wasn’t personalised like it is now. We ask for a desired gift for every child that’s referred to us and we try our hardest to allocate them something we’d think they’ll like from the donations we receive. But back then we’d just get a list of genders and ages and I’d go out to buy age-appropriate gifts for each one.”
As word spread, more businesses came onboard, such as local media who publicised the appeal. Since 2007, the appeal has been organised in partnership with Parkgate Shopping who have been instrumental in developing the idea of the ‘giving trees’ dotted around the shopping centre. The tags are kindly donated by John Brailsford Printers.
After Ann left her job in the council, and the toy appeal looked likely to end, she decided to take it on herself. With the support of Voluntary Action Rotherham, she set up Rotherham Families First in 2017 and they were kindly offered a new unit at Parkgate.
In May this year, they received charity status and have recently been nominated for a King’s Award for Voluntary Service.
The small charity is supported by a group of elves who help out in Santa’s workshop each year. All children remain anonymous, but volunteer Jenny writes a slip out for each one on their list with their age, gender and desired gift – and the elves go shopping to select something from the donated gifts.
Each child is given a toy, teddy bear, book, hat and scarf. The gifts are then given to the social workers or charity staff who send them out to each child’s parents or carers for them to wrap.
“We do that so parents have as much input into the process as possible. They know exactly what present their child is getting and the kids have no idea where the presents came from.”
This year, the Rotherham Christmas toy appeal will once again be supported by schools, churches, libraries and local businesses who set up their own collection banks ready to gift to Ann and the team. Mrs Claus will be doing the rounds with Stewart Nicholson from Rotherham Radio on Wednesday 4th and Thursday 5th December to collect any donations.
Rotherham United Community Trust and the Arc Cinema team are also joining in with this year’s appeal. They’ll be doing their own collection days and volunteering in the workshop in December.
As Christmas ends, there’ll be little rest for the Families First elves. The resources side is in greater demand. They provide clothing for ages 0 to 99, giving emergency packs out to those facing clothing poverty. Social workers can request things like bedding, towels, cushions, curtains and smaller items of furniture for their clients who need urgent help with household basics.
Rotherham Families First also take in second hand toys and books to give out throughout the year, and have recently gotten involved in the A Safer Sleep initiative to ensure all babies and toddlers have a new cot and mattress to sleep in.
They need volunteers year-round to help organise and distribute the clothing and items to the social care teams. They also rely heavily on donated items, so if you’re having a clear out in the lead up to Christmas, please consider dropping your pre-loved clothing, toys or household items off at Rotherham Families First.
For more information about the toy appeal or donating items to Rotherham Families First, contact Ann via email ann.familiesfirst@gmail.com
