2016 Donors, donations and doing it differently! The story of Operation Santa 2016 Every year I worry that we won’t get enough donations to reach local children and young people who may otherwise expect nothing for Christmas and every year I’m surprised, and delighted at the response we get!
Doing it differently This year I expected a huge drop in donations as we made a decision to decline any used items for the first time, (which have in the past made up a sizable proportion of the donations we received): but I’m delighted to report that there has been a huge boost in new donations. We did this simply as many of the organisations we work with are reluctant to accept used items and to be fair, in the past we’ve had some items donated that are really only fit for the bin – stained, dirty, broken, smelly, you name it we’ve had it donated over the years. One of our most prolific and committed donors, Brett Harris from Blaze Hair, has continued to source good quality pre-loved items such as educational toys, bikes, prams etc., but he knows exactly what to look for and has a great pool of generous donors! This type of item is snapped up by one particular charity we work with and for many children living below the poverty line, the chances of their parent[s] being able to afford a bike or a pram for Christmas are minimal and they are just ecstatic to find one under the tree on Christmas morning!
Analysing our stats for donations Considering that we had very few second-hand items and organised the food collections differently this year, I think we can count 2016 as another record breaker. In 2015 we had 3500 brand new books donated and 2581 food and toiletry donations included in the total. For our 2016 appeal I identified 5 local charities offering collection points for food and toiletries in Halesowen, Stourbridge, Brierley Hill, Dudley and Coseley: with the aim of ensuring that this type of donation when directly to their clients who needed it.
Operation Santa Report 2016
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