Funeral home decked with donated toys for struggling parents

Martyn Allen and Frank Coates surrounded by hundreds of Christmas gifts, donated for struggling parents at Kavanagh & Coates Funeral Services in Heywood

Kavanagh & Coates Funeral Services filled their Heywood branch with games and toys donated by the community after appealing for Christmas presents for less fortunate children.

The funeral home opened its doors to around 150 families over two days, who were able to take anything they liked for their children from the hundreds of gifts.

Frank Coates, Funeral Director of Kavanagh & Coates Funeral Services, said: “The parents and children were overwhelmingly grateful for their presents.

“For some children, this is sadly the only opportunity they’ll have to receive presents all year.”

The appeal was started by Martyn Allen, owner of Shaw’s Opticians in Heywood, three years ago. However, without large enough premises to contain all the donations, Martyn reached out to Frank, who offered the upstairs of Kavanagh & Coates Funeral Services as the venue.

This year marks Kavanagh & Coates’ third annual appeal for Christmas present donations with Shaw’s Opticians. The two businesses were able to drum up hundreds of donations from the Heywood community through the power of social media in particular.

Frank said: “Kavanagh & Coates has become known for collecting food and clothing for many charities in Heywood, so when appealing to locals for toys and games, many were already onboard.”

Kavanagh & Coates and Shaw’s Opticians are now looking to top the success for a fourth year running in 2020.