Donation to Salvation Army Christmas Present Appeal

At a meeting of the Finance & HR Committee held 15th November, members unanimously agreed to support Newbiggin Salvation Army Christmas Present Appeal with a donation of £500 towards presents from the Community Resilience Fund.

Since the 1990’s The Salvation Army have been running a Christmas Present Appeal to collect presents for vulnerable children and to support families that are struggling, in 2023 the need has never been greater due to the cost-of-living crisis.

They believe that every child deserves a new gift at Christmas and rightly so.  Cllr Alison Sutherland, Mayor of Newbiggin by the Sea,  and the Town Clerk, Elaine Brown, visited the Salvation Army Hall in Ashington on Wednesday 13th December to meet the Salvation Army members from Newbiggin, Ashington and Bedlington who were packing the presents ready for collections.

Cllr Sutherland got the opportunity to pack a present bag for a family with a boy aged 5 and a girl aged 9. Presents selected included toys, books, crafts, selection boxes and a family game.

Cllr Sutherland said ‘it was incredible to see the operation in action and be given the opportunity to help out. I’d like to thank the Salvation Army for what they are doing to support our community and the residents that have donated so generously, I hope this goes some why to ensuring all have a Merry Christmas’

A big thank you to Newbiggin resident Lee Small who also supported the Salvation Army by fundraising over £3000 to support this campaign, simply incredible.

Major Carrie James informed us that that presents for 369 children has been allocated with presents so far and more referrals through the various departments were incoming.