Dedicated volunteers are gearing up to organise the donation and collection of Christmas presents for more than 5,000 disadvantaged children across south Wales, as the incredible Mr X Christmas Appeal returns for its 63rd year.
Mr X himself passed away six years ago - but left an inspiring legacy which brings people across south Wales together united in one aim: to give children from low-income or underprivileged families from across the region gifts and presents to open on Christmas Day.
Mr X's son, who in the true spirit of Christmas has asked not to be named as he doesn't want any thank-yous for continuing the appeal, took on the project following his father's death and, together with a small team of volunteers dubbed "Mr X's elves", has now launched the 2022 Appeal. For more stories about Christmas, go here.
He told said he's grateful for the generous gifts and presents donated by members of the public every year but sadly, there's even more children on his list this year, made up of names submitted by local childcare agencies and social workers that would benefit from presents from the public, compared to previous years.
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Whilst it's a lot of work for volunteers to arrange, it's really easy for members of the public to arrange a donation. The simplest way is by phoning Mr X and his team (contact details at the bottom of this article) or by sending the Mr X Appeal a message on Facebook and asking for a child's name. You can specify if you'd like to buy for a girl or boy and an age-range for the child, if you like.
Please note, typically lots of people buy presents for the Mr X Christmas Appeal for young girls - so if you're able to buy for a boy of any age or a teenage girl, that would be particularly helpful this year, Mr X said.
How it works
Mr X and his elves will then give you a child's name and their age and a reference number - please keep hold of this number. After you've bought your gifts for your child, place them unwrapped in a Christmas-themed giftbag and contact Mr X via phone or Facebook to arrange for your item to be collected from a drop-off point near your home.
There's no cost involved in the Mr X Appeal and no gift is too small - that said, if a gift bought for a child is quite small (for example, a notebook and a pack of colouring pencils); Mr X and his team will try and put a few spare gifts with it to make it into a larger gift for the child.
Typically, people spend between £15 and £20 on a child, Mr X said, but it's entirely up to the person buying. One year, a very generous man bought a young boy a £150 bike!
As in previous years, in mid-November a Christmas tree will be put up in the Quadrant centre in Swansea city centre with children's names on gift-tags. This Giving Tree is arranged in collaboration with the Mr X Appeal and is another way for people to get the name of a child to buy for this year.
This year, Mr X would like all donations to be dropped off at donation points by early December. If this deadline isn't doable, do let Mr X and the team know and they will arrange a later collection if possible.
History of the Mr X Appeal
Mr X himself was born and raised in Plymouth, Devon. Whilst living there in the 1950s, he and his family occasionally looked after a young girl from a local orphanage and once a week took her out for a daytrip locally. The girl, Francesca, loved spending time with the family and was well looked after by them.
Mr X bought her a Christmas present one year - and soon realised there were many other youngsters in her position who would not be receiving Christmas presents in the orphanage. He began to tell friends and colleagues about this and was even approached on the street by strangers who wanted to buy presents for Francesca - but redirected them to buying presents for other children who were going without.
A few years later, Mr X and his family moved to Swansea and immediately wanted to set up a similar donation project here. Over the years, it's snowballed and now thousands of children across south Wales living in children's homes and with foster carers - or simply children from families who have fallen on hard times - receive Christmas presents bought specifically for them from kind members of the public.
Certainly, with the cost of living crisis, lots of families are worried about affording food and heating their homes this winter - and more so than ever, may be worried about affording gifts for their children. If you can support the Mr X Appeal and purchase a gift for a child, please do so.
How to arrange a present for a child through the Mr X Appeal
Here's how you can arrange a donation:
- Contact Mr X Christmas Appeal on Facebook or phone him/his team on 01792 863 400, 01792 846 271, 01792 523 885, 079 746 893 83 or 079 822 43 402 and ask for a child's name. If you'd like to specify boy/girl or an age-range, you can do so. (If no answer on the phone: leave a message and Mr X/the elves will call you back when he/they can)
- Buy your items for your child. Consider age-appropriate toys, gifts, sweets and other items - it's your choice if you'd like to buy lots of small items or one big item, or a combination of the two! No gift is too small - but most gift-buyers typically spend £15 to £20 per child
- Place your items - unwrapped so the items can be checked by the team for safety reasons - in a Christmas-themed giftbag. Attach a gift tag or label which clearly says the child's name and age and their reference number
- Contact Mr X to arrange collection. He/his elves will tell you where your nearest donation point is and arrange for an Elf to collect your item. Ideally, presents need to be donated by early-December, to ensure they're dispatched to the relevant child in time for Christmas
- Mr X will arrange for your present to be given to the relevant childcare agency or support worker responsible for your child, who will receive it in time for Christmas.
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