Walking through the doors you could be forgiven for thinking you've wandered into a charming, if ever so slightly chaotic, regional distribution centre for Santa's workshop - and in a way that's sort of what it is.
Today, Blackley-based Humans MCR sat down with a team of nine volunteers, and between them wrapped an impressive 600 gifts for some of the neediest children in Greater Manchester. These are children who, without Humans MCR, might not even eat a proper meal on Sunday, let alone receive a gift. Thanks to this charity, they will get both.
Hidden beneath the apparent chaos was organisation - piles of wrapped gifts sorted by age, different wrapping papers for gifts intended for boys and girls, and lists of gifts pinned to the wall. Batteries were taped to toys that required them, and even a pen and gift tag included with each gift so parents could make them their own. The mission of the day was simple - wrap hundreds of gifts ready to bring smiles to little faces on Christmas morning.
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"I got about two hours sleep last night," Humans MCR co-founder Lewey Hellewell confessed as I arrived. "I keep thinking that I can't think of anything I've forgotten, which means I must have forgotten something."
For Lewey, Humans MCR is more than a job. It's his life's work, borne out of his own experiences of using food banks when he was made redundant. At the Manchester Evening News, we've been working with Lewey for a month, asking our readers to donate anything they can to Humans MCR for our Christmas appeal, and it has become obvious that Lewey is the life-blood of the charity. He is a man who think of everything - from pens with gift tags to asking food bank users what cooking facilities they have available.
The next three days are Humans MCR's biggest project yet. Founded in 2019, the team always help feed Manchester's neediest around Christmas, but this year they'll be delivering festive hampers to 304 families across Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Rochdale, and Trafford. It's no mean feat, and is an operation that takes them right up to Christmas eve.
But the three days are also special, because they are being joined by over 60 volunteers - a selection of whom were wrapping gifts this morning. This is a diverse bunch - today, they had a team of apprentices from TransPennine Express, two women from Manchester WI, and a woman who had volunteered for Humans' Xmas deliveries last year. It is because of these volunteers that this colossal task can be done.
Carole is one of these. She found the charity during lockdown, when her cancer forced her to shield. Given food parcels by the council, she wanted to find somewhere to donate her meat and fish due to her vegetarianism. After doing some research, she started a relationship with Humans MCR that has continued to this day. Carole and her husband volunteered for Humans MCR's Christmas deliveries last year - so she has seen the real-life impact of the work they do.
"Some of the people seemed a little bit embarrassed, which is sad but understandable, and others just seemed unbelievably relieved," she told the M.E.N of her experience last year. "Some of them were lonely as well. We ran over our slot because we just got talking to everyone.
"Some of them pour their heart out to you. For some of them you realise you are possibly the only person they've spoken to in days. I still remember everyone I spoke to last year, and the conversations I had. But given what is going on this year, it feels like it is a whole different level."
Humans MCR were inundated with requests for help this year, and were unable to allocate a Christmas hamper to everyone who asked. It's something that clearly weighs on Lewey's mind as we move through the morning - but it's also obvious that this place is bursting at the seams. Hundreds of gifts, on top of supplies for 300 family Christmas meals, is already pushing the small space they have available.
Once wrapped, the gifts will be sorted into hampers - one for each under-18 on Humans MCR's books this year, ready to be delivered on Friday.
"It's sad that we need places like this really," Kevin, another volunteer said as he sorted piles of gifts. "But we are in this position and everyone has to pull in and do their bit."
The atmosphere was light, and the day festive, but underneath the paper, the feeling is bittersweet. Each gift represents a child whose family are struggling in our region. The piles of presents speak for themselves.
To support their work you can donate here.
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