The Teesside Charity Christmas Toy Appeal

The Teesside Charity Christmas Toy Appeal is back for 2024 to help ensure that no child in Teesside wakes up on Christmas Day without a gift.

Christmas is a magical time of year for most of us. However, for many children in Teesside, through circumstances beyond their control, this is not the case.  

One in three children in our region are living below the breadline and their families must make a tough choice between paying their bills or buying food, so Christmas is simply not feasible.  

This year we are bringing back The Teesside Charity Christmas Toy Appeal to help ensure that no child wakes up on Christmas Day without a gift.  

We are calling on the help and support of our community to help us provide as many gifts as possible to children suffering hardship. We can’t do this without your support.

How can you help?

 You can help give a child in Teesside the gift of Christmas this year by donating a gift or organising a collection in your workplace. You can either purchase a gift of your choice or purchase a gift from our Toy Appeal Amazon Wish List. Alternatively, you can donate funds to the Toy Appeal by visiting our website’s Donate’ page and we will purchase the gifts on your behalf.

Gifts can be hand delivered or posted to The Teesside Charity, Cargo Fleet Offices, Middlesbrough, TS6 6XJ.

Ways to get involved

  • Get in touch to receive Christmas gift tags for your workplace
  • Get in touch to receive a reusable donation station for your workplace
  • Buy a gift of your choice and deliver it to our office
  • Donate funds
  • Use our Amazon Wish List and have the donations delivered straight to our warehouse
  • Fundraise in your workplace to buy toys then contact us for delivery/collection details
  • Fundraise in your workplace and donate the money to the charity for us to buy presents on your behalf

If you would like to find out more information about how you can get involved, please email Jenny.w@teessidecharity.org.uk.

All gifts MUST be delivered to your preferred drop off point by Friday 29th November to ensure we have enough time to distribute the presents to families before Christmas. If your organisation has chosen to raise funds for us to purchase gifts on your behalf, please ensure all funds are handed over to the charity by Friday 29th November.

Drop off points

Some of our lovely supporters are kindly acting as drop off points for our Christmas Toy Appeal! If you have purchased a gift for our Christmas Toy Appeal, you can drop it off at any of the listed organisations.

  • Anderson Barrowcliff – 3 Kingfisher Court, Bowesfield Park, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3EX
  • Alpha dental care / vitality – Wellburn Road, Fairfield TS19 7PP
  • Aspire – Winder house, Stockton, TS18 3EX
  • AV Dawson – The Staithes, Riverside Park Rd, Middlesbrough TS2 1UT
  • BA Joinery – Purvis Building, Leelholme Road, Billingham, TS23 3TA
  • Barclays Middlesbrough – Unit 1, Centre mall, TS12NR
  • Barclays Stockton – Wellington Square, Stockton, TS18 1NA
  • Barchester – Billingham grange independent hospital – High Grange Avenue, Billingham, Cleveland, TS23 3TY
  • Bedworld – Cannon Park, 2-4 Bulmer Way, Middlesbrough TS1 5JT
  • Bentley’s Coffee Shop – Parkway Centre, Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough TS8 0TJ
  • Boho Zero – 21 Gosford St, Middlesbrough TS2 1BB
  • Boosbeck Village Hall – 16 Oldham Street, Boosbeck, Saltburn, TS12 3AL
  • Bradley Hall – Suite 6 Wynyard Business Park, Wynyard, TS22 5TA
  • Brambles Farm Primary – Kedward Avenue Brambles Farm Middlesbrough TS3 9DB.
  • Cargo fleet Offices – Middlesbrough Road, Middlesbrough, TS6 6XJ
  • Durata – 2 Wilfred Whitfield Way, Tees AMP, Middlesbrough, TS2 1EN
  • Flok – 20 – 26 Albert Rd, Middlesbrough TS1 1PR
  • Fusion Hive – N Shore Rd, Stockton-on-Tees TS18 2NB
  • Geoffrey Robinson Engineering – Macklin Avenue, Cowpen Industrial Estate, Billingham TS23 4ET
  • Grey-Smith legal – 67 Queensway, Stockton-on-Tees, Billingham TS23 2LU
  • Intelect – Stephenson House, Intelect Court, Riverside Park Rd, Middlesbrough TS2 1QT
  • Level Q – 2A, Surtees Business Centre, LevelQ, Park, Stockton-on-Tees TS18 3HR
  • LilyAnne’s Wellbeing – 5 Victoria Rad, Hartlepool TS247SE
  • Lindy Electronics – 103 Sadler Forster Way, Teesside Industrial Estate, Thornaby, TS17 9JY
  • Linthorpe Surgery – 378 Linthorpe Rd, Middlesbrough TS5 6HA
  • Mandale Homes – Urlay Nook, Eaglescliffe, TS16 0TA
  • Northfield school & Sports college – Thames Road, Billingham, TS22 5EG
  • North Tees Hospital – Ward 27, North Tees Hospital, Hardwick Rd, Stockton-on-Tees TS19 8PE
  • Parker Barras – The Qube, Windward Way, Middlehaven, Middlesbrough, TS2 1QG
  • Paul Card Recruitment – Eden Hub, 2 Evolution, Wynyard Business Park, TS22 5TB
  • Polished Marske – 6 The Wynd, Marske-by-the-Sea, TS11 7LA
  • px Group – P X House, Westpoint Rd, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees TS17 6BF
  • Recruitrite UK – Coniscliffe House, Coniscliffe Rd, Darlington DL3 7EE
  • Reloved Hartlepool – Greenbank, Stranton, Walden Street, Hartlepool, TS24 7QS
  • Salesfire – Floor 2 Salesfire, 16-26 albert Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 1QA
  • Solmek – 12-16 Yarm Road, Stockton on Tees, TS18 3NA
  • St Marks Church, Marske – 7 Redcar Rd, Marske-by-the-Sea, TS11 6AA
  • St Patricks primary school – Baysdale Road, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 9DE
  • The Build Directory – Graythorp House, Portrack Grange Cl, Stockton-on-Tees TS18 2PU
  • The Keys Yarm – 65 High St, Yarm TS15 9BH
  • Thirteen Housing Group – 2 Hudson Quay, Windward Way, Middlesbrough, TS2 1QG

  • Tilery Primary – St Ann’s Terrace, Stockton, TS18 2HU
  • Teesside Golf Club – Teesside Golf Club, 89 Acklam Rd, Thornaby, TS17 7JS
  • Wander Films – 23-25 Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 1PQ
  • Unity – Brunel House, Brunel Road, Middlesbrough TS6 6JA
  • Wasley Chapman – 7 Eggleston Court, Riverside Park Industrial Estate, TS2 1RU
  • Wynyard Golf Club – Wellington Dr, Wynyard, TS22 5QJ

Applying for gifts

Schools, social services, health visitors, local charities and organisations can apply for gifts for a family in need by filling out ‘The Teesside Charity Christmas Toy Appeal’ form. 

FAQ’s

What type of gifts should I purchase? 

We can’t accept any second-hand or used gifts, regardless of their condition, for health and safety reasons. We also only accept new gifts to ensure that the children we support are getting something new for Christmas – especially since it may be the only gift they receive. Unfortunately, we can’t accept homemade or knitted items either.

Suggested gift ideas:

  • 0-3 years:  dolls, teddy bears, cot mobiles, rattles, activity boards, musical instruments, stacking rings, shape sorters, props for make-believe play, bath toys and puzzles
  • 3-5: dolls, action figures, educational games and toys, active games, toy vehicles, art supplies, books and puzzles
  • 5-9: educational games and toys, stationery, books, sports equipment, remote control cars, building sets, board games and magic sets
  • 9-12: Board games, stationery, books, hair accessories, model kits, sports equipment,
  • 13-16: books, make-up and toiletries (please try to ensure non-allergic ingredients if possible), hair accessories and gift vouchers

Batteries can be expensive for parents to buy, so if your gift requires them, please do try to provide them. Please tape any purchased batteries to the side of the box so that children can play with their gift on Christmas Day.

Are there any presents we can’t buy?

We ask that you refrain from buying:

  • Edible items (not including new unopened selection boxes)
  • Anything that assumes the family has something for the toy to be of use (e.g. a DVD, CD or video game)

What name and address do I use?

If you wish to purchase your gift from a local or online retailer of your choice you can either hand deliver your gift or post it to The Teesside Charity, Cargo Fleet Offices, Middlesbrough, TS6 6PT.

As a company how should we organise buying gifts?

This is up to you! Here’s a few ideas:

  • Each member of staff can buy a present
  • Fundraise as an office and buy all the presents in one go
  • Set a company budget to purchase the presents
  • Fundraise for us to buy presents on your behalf

Can we wrap and label the presents?

No. Wrapping the present is a lovely idea, however gifts are left unwrapped for safety reasons, and to enable us and the recipients to work out which age group the gift is suitable for.

Can extras be added to my gift?

That would be a lovely gesture. Please feel free to add any suitable age-related items to your present!

I put my name on the order by accident. Will the child still receive their gift?

As long as the address is correct, the item will be delivered to the correct location and the child will still receive their gift.

Where do the gifts go? How are they distributed? 

Gifts are sorted by our team. The gifts are signed for and collected by the organisation who have applied on behalf of the children they work with. The organisation will distribute the gifts they receive to the families they are supporting for them to wrap and put under the Christmas tree.

Can you let me know that my gift has been received?

Unfortunately, we will not be able to inform everyone when we have received their gift. If you are purchasing your product from an online retailer, you will be able to track the delivery of the gift and check when it has arrived at our office.