JCB’s Christmas Toy Appeal has seen a record haul of gifts collected for families in need.
Generous employees donated 1,787 presents, beating last year’s total of 1,700.
Donations were collected from 15 different points across the Rocester-based company’s plants.
The bulk of the toys are being donated to Stoke-on-Trent charity the Hubb Foundation.
Hubb Foundation operations manager Tom Beecham said: “JCB’s Christmas Toy Appeal means so much to us as a charity and it means so much to the children and families we work with in Stoke-on-Trent.
“Christmas is a challenging time of year, so to bring some happiness and positivity to children at this time of year is wonderful. We can’t thank JCB and all the employees enough for their ongoing generosity.”
The first batch of gifts was delivered to pupils at New Ford Academy in Smallthorne, Stoke-on-Trent, by JCB-sponsored athlete and Olympic silver medallist Adam Burgess and JCB apprentices.
Deputy head Tracy Moller said: “It was wonderful to see the excitement on the children’s faces as the gifts were distributed. We would like to thank all the fabulous employees at JCB for their generous donations.”
Toys donated by employees at JCB Transmissions in Wrexham are being given to the Salvation Army for local distribution.
Cheadle Primary School has also had a donation of gifts.
The appeal was co-ordinated by JCB apprentices Kitty Hulme, Lewis Durham, Lucy Pepper and Will Jenkins.
Since the toy appeal’s launch in 2022, JCB employees have donated almost 6,000 gifts for children and young people.
