FC United's Toy Story on Saturday 17th December

Working with the Frost Foundation, we are staging the very first FC United Toy Story on Saturday 17th December at our home match against Boston United - Between now and then we are asking all supporters to donate a toy which will be distributed to families and young people in need over the Christmas period.

For many parents seeing the look of delight on their children’s faces as they open their presents on Christmas morning is one of the highlights of the year. But for many families and young people Christmas can, for a variety of reasons, be a struggle.

This year we’ll be looking to do our bit to help by working with the Frost Foundation to stage the very first FC United Toy Story on Saturday 17th December at our home match against Boston United.

We are asking all supporters to donate a toy which will be collected by the Frost Foundation at the match on 17th December and distributed to families and young people in need over the Christmas period.

If you can’t make it to the match on 17th December then we will also be collecting toys at all first team home matches up to the Boston match.

The Frost Foundation is a charity that helps children and teenagers in the Greater Manchester area who are disadvantaged by illness, circumstance or lack of money. In particular, they support children with disabilities and those living in poverty to help them live their lives to the full.

Rather than cash, this support typically takes the form of much needed items of equipment such as mattresses, wheelchairs or electronic devices and also school uniforms in summer and presents at Christmas.

Wendy Veevers from the Frost Foundation explained;
"For the last three years we have run a Christmas campaign where we have donated nearly 2,000 presents to local children in the Greater Manchester region, mainly who are living in crisis. We cover children from newborn through to 18. We donate to three local women’s refuges, for families who have fled domestic violence, often with just the clothes they stand up in. We also donate to Barnardo’s, especially for older teenagers who are living independently and who are often alone at Christmas".

Andy Cheshire, FC United’s Community and Education Manager, said of this new initiative: “This is the first year that we have decided to collect toys for vulnerable families and children at Christmas time. FC United is an inclusive football club, open to all and we hope that, like Big Coat Day, this demonstration of goodwill by members and supporters at a challenging time of year will again show the commitment of this football club to be of benefit to its local community and the wider Greater Manchester area and also assist the Frost Foundation in ensuring they can deliver to those most in need this Christmas".

So please have a rummage through your cupboards and draws at home and see if there are any toys, in good condition, that you could spare to donate to children and teenagers in need at Christmas, and then bring them along to FC United’s Toy Story on Saturday 17th December or any first team home match before then.

All types of toy are welcome; anything from cuddly toys, Lego and dolls to jigsaws, games, educational toys, train sets or remote control diggers.

Each Christmas we celebrate FC United still being here, this year let’s take the opportunity to also bring some joy into the lives of some local children and teenagers over the festive period.