The Salvation Army and Isle of Man Bank are again combining to try and ensure that every child in the Island has a present to open on Christmas morning.
Deniese Smith, Senior Bank Manager at Isle of Man Bank, joined Salvation Army Captains Simon and Carolyn Clampton in the Athol Street branch in Douglas to officially open this year’s appeal which runs from November 1st to 30th. The Manx public is asked to consider buying one extra Christmas present and leave it, unwrapped, at any one of Isle of Man Bank’s branches from where it will be collected by Salvation Army helpers.
Captain Carolyn Clampton said: ‘Christmas is a time of celebration but it can also be a time of stress and frustration. It is a season which highlights the division between those in our society who have enough to live on and those for whom life is a continual struggle. During this year The Salvation Army on the Isle of Man has experienced an increase in requests to help those families and individuals who would never have imagined finding themselves in a situation where they would need extra assistance. Essential bills such as fuel, clothes and food still need paying and parents can feel torn between paying these and buying presents for their children. Thanks to the generosity of members of the public who buy an extra present, and working in partnership with the Isle of Man Bank, The Salvation Army here on the Island try to relieve some of these tensions and remind people of the real meaning of Christmas’.
During November well over a thousand toys, gifts, games and vouchers will be donated by local residents, collated by staff of Isle of Man Bank, collected by Army helpers and taken to the Citadel before being wrapped and delivered in time for Christmas Day.
Said Deniese Smith: ‘This is the eighth year the Bank has supported this initiative and we have been amazed at the way the community rallies round every year to support the Christmas Toy Appeal. It really is a tribute to the generosity of the Manx public’.
Photo caption - Salvation Army captains Carolyn and Simon Clampton pictured with Isle of Man Bank Senior Bank Manager, Deniese Smith and bank staff members with some of the toys already contributed to this year’s Christmas Toy Appeal.
