Car dealership provides Christmas cheer to local children

Helen Leach (left) from Rochdale Borough Council meets Father Christmas and the team at Swansway Honda. The company have donated £500 of toys to the council staff run appeal

Lots more local children living in poverty will be getting a present to open on 25 December thanks to Swansway Honda in Rochdale after the car dealer donated £500 of toys to the town’s Christmas Toy Appeal.

Swansway Honda make a toy donation every Christmas but this time decided to support the  ‘Giving Back’ charity.

General Manager Ben Locke said: “The company donates toys every Christmas but when we heard about this appeal we decided to support it so all the gifts go to local children in our borough. We are pleased to be able to make a difference to this very worthy cause.”

Helen Leach from the ‘Giving Back’ charity visited the dealership on Queensway this week to collect the toys. She said: “When we launched this appeal last month we said we were aiming to collect more than 500 toys as some children had to miss out last year. This extremely generous donation from Swansway Honda will go a long way to helping us achieve our target.

"Gifts are also being dropped off at libraries across the borough and more people than ever seem to be getting behind us this year.”

Father Christmas made a surprise appearance at Swansway Honda and helped deliver the toys to Number One Riverside before council staff distribute them to deserving local children.

The annual Christmas Toy Appeal sees the ‘Giving Back’ charity ask residents and staff to buy one extra present – a new, unwrapped gift suitable for a child between 0-16-years-old and leave it at a local library by Wednesday 16 December. Council staff will make sure they reach the borough’s less fortunate children in time for the big day.