Kind hearted students and staff donate record number of Christmas gifts
Fri, 12 December 2025
Students and staff at Tameside College donate record number of gifts to local fund helping children in poverty this Christmas.
Over 700 items have been collected as part of the college’s participation in this year’s Tameside Toy Appeal, which aims to provide every child in the borough with a gift on Christmas day each year.
This is the fifth year that Tameside College has taken part in the appeal, which is organised by charity Action Together, with this year breaking previous records. 385 gifts will now be put together from the items donated, ranging from beauty sets to toy cars and games.
Level three sports students also assisted with the fundraising, hosting a ‘wear your sports jersey’ day and volleyball tournament which raised £203. The funds were then used to purchase additional gifts for the appeal.
According to the Child Poverty Action Group, up to 4.5 million children are living in poverty in the UK currently, with the number growing year on year. Initiatives such as the Tameside Toy Appeal aim to combat this and provide Christmas cheer to those most in need.
This year, the college placed a Christmas tree in its reception area with gift tags on. Each tag contained a gift idea and who to purchase them for, which students and staff could then use as inspiration.
Denni Bates, central support administrator at Tameside College, who coordinated the college’s participation in the appeal, believes that the record number of gifts donated was due in part to this initiative: “We’ve been absolutely blown away by the generosity of everyone at the college this year. To see over 700 items donated is truly incredible. Every single person who picked up a gift tag, donated a gift or supported the fundraising has helped make a huge difference. I would like to thank everyone who was involved this year, their kindness means hundreds of children across Tameside will have something to open on Christmas morning.”
If you would like to donate to the Tameside Toy Appeal visit the Action Together website: https://www.actiontogether.org.uk/tameside-toy-appeal-2025