Piles of jigsaws, soft toys and games filled Clydach community hall this weekend in a bid to help out families who are feeling the pinch this Christmas. Hundreds of people turned up to donate used toys and hundreds more came to grab presents for the kids to make sure this Christmas is as magical as any other.
Bayview Aluminium owner Gareth Jones, 36, and his business partner Carl Hancock decided to give back to their community this year and put on their first annual toy bank in response to the soaring cost-of-living crisis which is affecting families across Wales. Wanting to do more than just making a one-off donation to charity, Gareth and Carl organised the toy bank which was a huge success and helped to spread some much-needed festive cheer across the Swansea valley village.
The pair volunteered with their families on Saturday, November 26 to organise donations which poured into Clydach Community Hall, Vadre Road. The used toys, which Gareth said were in excellent condition, were organised into sections such as board games, soft toys and baby items. The next day, the hall was open for anyone to come in and take what they needed for Christmas with no limit on what could be taken home.
