Help Bring Joy to Child This Christmas
As the festive season draws near, many of us eagerly anticipate the joy and magic that Christmas brings. Yet for some children and young people, especially those in care or facing tough circumstances, this time of year can be challenging. That's why Mersey Cares, the dedicated charity of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust have launched the 2024 Secret Santa Appeal. With your support, we can ensure that more children and young people can experience the joy of receiving a gift this Christmas.
How you can give a gift to a child
Until 13 December 2024 you can give a precious gift to a child using our services. There are two main ways to get involved:
- Buy a Gift from Our Amazon Wish List – Our children's services teams have carefully selected gifts that are meaningful and special. By choosing an item from one of these wish lists, you can ensure that a child receives something they will truly love this Christmas.
- Make a Donation Every contribution, no matter how big or small, will make a difference. Your donations will be used to purchase gifts for children in our services.
Supporting children using our services
Last year, thanks to the overwhelming kindness of our supporters were able to support children and young people with Christmas gifts and vouchers across five areas of the Mersey Care Foundation Trust: CAMHS (Knowsley), St Helen’s Looked After Children Team, the Hampton Road Health Visiting Service, Smithdown Children's Walk-in Centre, and the Carer Engagement Team at Hollins Park. Over 200 gifts were generously donated, including colouring books, sticker books, selection boxes, puzzles, slime, and a wonderful assortment of toys for imaginative play and creativity, as well as toys for babies. We also received a variety of vouchers, including Costa and Amazon gift cards.
Those interested in helping the campaign can either purchase a gift from the Amazon Wish List, which includes colouring books, chocolate, Lego, crayons, coloured pencils and gift cards, or donate as little as £5 to the charity directly.
Our services who may benefit from this appeal include Knowsley’s CAMHS team, who offer specialist work with children and young people presenting challenging mental health problems; many residing within disadvantaged communities.
Other children include those in the Looked After Children Team, who provide health and wellbeing support to children who have been in the care of their local authority, up until the age of 19. Our specialist nurses carry out assessments for children who attend local independent schools, children who range from 16-18 who are not in education or training and children in their transition from childhood to adulthood.