Sporting Wallsend festive food and toy appeal

Local TV

We speak to staff at Sporting Wallsend about their efforts to help the local community and ensure that no child in the Wallsend area goes without this Christmas.

Transcript

00:00As the cost of living crisis continues to put pressure on families across our region,

00:05one local initiative is stepping up to bring a little joy this Christmas.

00:09Sporting Wall's End has launched a community toy campaign helping families

00:13who are struggling with the daily choice between heating and eating.

00:17We're here to take a closer look at how local organisations are coming together

00:21to spread laughter, warmth and hope across the area.

00:25Yeah, so we're running a Christmas toy and food appeal.

00:30We've done that for the last couple of years, which have been really successful.

00:33So the idea of the appeal is for people to drop off donations, both new and old toys,

00:41which we can donate to local families in the NE28 in the North Tyneside area

00:46so we can support them to have the best Christmas here possibly can have.

00:50So Sporting Wall's End was actually set up on the back of Wall's End Boys Club

00:54and the success Wall's End Boys Club had.

00:57Wall's End Boys Club obviously was set up in 1904, so over 120 years ago.

01:01Sporting Wall's End is really to focus on the community element,

01:04working with people in the Wall's End, the North Tyneside area.

01:07Our tagline is to inspire our community to become happier and healthier.

01:12We run programmes from 8 o'clock in the morning through to 10 o'clock at night,

01:15as well as school programmes as well.

01:18We run an alternative provision programme where we've got young people in the building

01:22who don't engage in mainstream school.

01:24We run disability sports, we run sports for over 50s,

01:28and then also sports for those who suffer with diseases such as Parkinson's and dementia as well.

01:34So again, it's all just about trying to make a positive difference through the power of sport.

01:38A lot of families in the NE28 area are struggling,

01:42so especially we run holiday activity and food programmes,

01:45which supports those who are on free school meals,

01:47which obviously they don't get during the holiday periods.

01:51So there's a lot of families who have the decision whether to feed their children,

01:54whether to buy them Christmas presents,

01:56whether to put the heating on over the winter period.

01:58So any support we can give them is really, really important.

02:02And by running the appeal, we can give food to some of the families who need it,

02:06but also toys and presents to young children as well.

02:09Yeah, definitely.

02:10I mean, we work with a range of different people,

02:12people who don't just come here to play football,

02:13people who come here, you know, struggling financially,

02:17struggling with their mental health, struggling with their well-being.

02:19So the idea of the programmes we run, including this one,

02:23is to make a real difference.

02:24So we get a lot of families come back after the Christmas

02:27and say what a good Christmas we've had

02:29and what a difference we've made over the festive period.

02:32So we work with seven different primary schools in the Walshend area.

02:36Obviously, they've got a real strong understanding of the families,

02:39so we'll actually distribute them to the different schools

02:41who will then know the families who need it most.

02:44We'll also take a delivery down to walking with

02:46and they can distribute them to their families

02:49who are going to benefit the most.

02:50By coming together, we've got a stronger reach,

02:52a sort of broader community that we can work with.

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