Lidl has announced today it will be launching a new nationwide toy donation drive to help support charities and community groups during the festive period.
The budget supermarket's new initiative will see it roll out 'toy banks' across every single store across Scotland and the UK this November, in a bid to drive more toy donations for Christmas.
Launched in partnership with neighbourly, customers will be able to drop off any new or unopened toys that can be gifted to children in their local area that need support via charities or community groups. From Thursday, November 3, customers can donate a range of gifts that can be used as stocking fillers to larger presents - such as toys, games, books, puzzles, and arts and crafts that will be suitable for all ages.
Any toys donated will then be collected by local charities participating in Lidl’s ‘Feed it Back’ scheme, coordinated by Neighbourly, alongside the food donations they pick up weekly
It comes after research from Neighbourly - Lidl's award-winning partner - found that 8 in 10 of the supermarket's charities and community groups were in need of toys and gifts for children.
The research found that, out of 236 charities within Lidl's community network, 80 per cent confirmed that toys and games were one of their most needed items to help serve their local communities over the festive period - second only to food donations.
Charities, community groups and food banks can register interest now to receive surplus food and toy donations this Christmas here before Monday, October 31.
Additionally, Lidl has also pledged to support charities with an extra £250,000 - including a £125k donation for the toy bank initiative. It will also see the supermarket chain donate more meals than ever over the festive period, which will see over one million meals given away through its food surplus programme.
Ryan McDonnell, Chief Executive Officer at Lidl GB, said: “It has always been our firm belief that each and every one of our stores must have a positive impact on its community. This year, we wanted to find a meaningful way to help these communities - and so we listened to the 1,500 local charities, food banks and community groups we partner with and heard clearly what they needed: food, toys, and access to funds.
"As a business we are proud to be able to address all three needs. We are launching toy banks in all our stores, pledging 1m meals and we will be making £250k available for charities through a Neighbourly donation and our community fund.
"Our hope is that by rolling out the toy donation points we are making it easier, for those customers who can, to donate directly to local good causes by giving them a small way to make a real difference and help those that need it the most.”
Steve Butterworth, CEO of Neighbourly, added: "Our latest community survey has highlighted the financial strain that many families are facing this winter. With local charities seeing a drop in both food and financial donations, any support that Lidl customers can give is going to be critical. For many families, Christmas gifts will be something they will struggle to afford, so a scheme like this which alleviates some of the worry for parents will make a huge difference.”
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