A seasonal tradition is back again this year with a large Christmas tree installed in Heartland Bank ready to be stocked with donated presents for children.
Birthright supports one parent families and works with Heartland Bank to help bring some joy to children.
Birthright social worker Christine Muff said the annual tradition saw bank staff set up the tree and decorate it for members of the public to leave presents for children.
The public can leave donated presents anytime and usually write whether it’s for a girl or boy and the age.
Birthright collects the presents in the lead up to Christmas and they are delivered to families.
‘‘The children are so grateful for what they get, it’s amazing, and for a lot of them it’s the biggest present they get,’’ Mrs Muff said.
Gifts can be dropped into the Heartland Bank on East Street up until December 23, at 3pm.
Those gifts will be added to a generous donation from Mitre 10 Mega Ashburton who has a few pallets groaning under the weight of toys all ready to be delivered to families in need on Christmas Eve.
Every Christmas Mitre 10 Mega donated toys to the Birthright Trust to be given to children in one parent families.
Mitre 10 Mega Ashburton retail manager Todd Walker said the presents were chosen by owner Simon Lye.
‘‘Simon is a big driver behind this, it is fantastic that we can give presents to kids who probably won’t get any, I know the entire team here are really proud that we do this,’’ he said.
Mrs Muff said the toys go to around eighty families in the community.
‘‘It’s a huge big thank you from our clients, the kids are so excited and appreciative of the gifts.’’
‘‘The kids always remember, they always say thank you, they are cool kids,’’ she said.
