Christmas is an expensive time of year and can be a really stressful time for families living in poverty, who would struggle to afford presents for their children. The Wood Street Mission Christmas Appeal aims to relieve this pressure for local families in a tough situation, by distributing gifts and toys to enable local children to have the same festive experiences as their friends.

From late November, families visited our Christmas shop at Wood Street Mission to choose new gifts for each of their children to open on Christmas morning, plus extra goodies such as selection boxes and stocking fillers.

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we were able to help over 1,500 families across Manchester and Salford, providing gifts and toys to 4,135 children so they can have a special Christmas. Since the charity began 152 years ago, we have been able to help hundreds of thousands of families at Christmas, so they can enjoy the festive season together.

None of this would be possible without our amazing supporters – from raising awareness of our appeal, to donating money or toys, to volunteering your time to help in a practical way. Your incredibly kind support has helped struggling families at the end of a very tough year and given local children a very happy Christmas, isn't that what every child deserves?