Residents at Vernon Park Primary School, AUGB Ukranian Club, Supportability, Brinnington Hall Care Home, The Together Trust and Autisk this week received over 510 Christmas gifts, courtesy of Dunelm Stockport’s generous colleagues and customers.
The donation was the result of the retailer’s Delivering Joy campaign, which saw Stockport shoppers purchase gifts for people in need in their local community.
Now in its third year the heart-warming initiative has seen numbers of gifts donated soar every year, with this year’s total reaching more than 60,000 gifts which is triple the number of donations in 2020 & 2021, as customers respond to the tightening grip of the cost of living crisis and go out of their way to support others.
Dunelm customers and colleagues in Stockport came together to ‘deliver joy’ by fulfilling gift tag requests completed by local community members who needed extra support this festive period.
The store featured a Christmas tree decked with gift tags supplied by local causes, including primary schools, refuges in the area.
Customers were able to collect a personalised tag, buy a gift requested by the recipient and return it to the store, where Dunelm colleagues ensure they are delivered in time for Christmas.
This year, with the cost-of-living crisis hitting home, store colleagues noticed that rather than toys and games, many people had put winter essentials at the top of their wish lists with items such as hats, scarves, socks, toiletries and festive food items like selection boxes in high-demand.
Children not in a fixed address were also worried that Santa wouldn’t know where to find them, making Dunelm’s donation drive even more vital.
Claire Lee, Headteacher at Vernon Park Primary School said: “We are incredibly grateful to our local community and to Dunelm for coming together to help our residents and staff have the best Christmas possible this year, it means the world to us.”
Simon Goldie, Store Coach at Dunelm Stockport said: “With the cost-of-living crisis making Christmas a challenging time for many this year, we’re so pleased with the outcome of our campaign. It’s been a true pleasure to help deliver joy and support those in need again this year.
“I would like to say a huge thank you to all our customers who have kindly donated gifts, your generosity is truly inspiring.”
The Delivering Joy campaign extended beyond gifts too, with many customers across Stockport donating pre-loved decorations via Dunelm to find new homes in shelters or care homes that might not have had the funds to provide their own.
