Thousands of children in need received gifts from the Christmas Toy Appeal.
The Kevin Jenkins OBE Newham Christmas Toy Appeal, which is run in conjunction with the Newham Recorder, smashed its target, bringing joy to thousands of children in need on Christmas Day.
Having received an influx of donations and gifts, charity Ambition, Aspire, Achieve's (AAA) holiday appeal reached its goal just hours before the deadline.
From toys to generous cash donations, the outpouring of support from the community has been incredible.
The gifts were distributed to nearly 3,000 vulnerable children in time for Christmas, marking the successful conclusion of the appeal.
Appeal organiser Paula Blake said: "A huge thank you to everyone who supported the Kevin Jenkins OBE Newham Christmas Toy Appeal this year.
"It has been one of our most challenging years in regards to donations, but it has been great to see the community come together to help at the most difficult time.
"Thank you 2,897 times over."
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Sharing this sentiment, AAA’s chief executive Jonny Boux expressed gratitude to the many individuals and organisations that rallied together to make the appeal a success.
Mr Boux said: "When we launched the appeal back in November, the challenge this year seemed larger than ever.
"Referrals from local schools, social workers and agencies have been high, but our supporters have really pulled together.
"We cannot thank the many businesses, churches, local schools, community groups and literally hundreds of individuals who have dug deep and shown such kindness and generosity."
This was the 46th annual appeal run in partnership with the Newham Recorder.
In the final few days, the appeal saw a surge of donations from various groups.
The Hill Group and sub-contractors contributed to the appeal by offering toy donations and raising £1,000.
Zurich, which had already made an earlier donation, engaged in a series of challenges to raise additional funds for the appeal.
Another donation came from Tideway, which presented the gifts to AAA's Marie Poinsamy.
Long-time partners LEGO sent a team to the donation processing warehouse, provided by Gallions Reach Shopping Park, which assisted with sorting, wrapping, and distributing donations.
Additional support in the warehouse came from a dedicated team from BNY Mellon.
The appeal ended with a party hosted by the AAA team for the children set to benefit from the appeal.
The event was full of joy and games, with a special appearance by Father Christmas and his team of helpers.
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