Toy Appeal Success!

ELBA’s 2011 Toy Appeal was a roaring success with nearly £68,000 worth of toys donated to thousands of east London children by ELBA companies including UBS, Credit Suisse, RBS and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Despite an austere year, the 2011 Toy Appeal saw 29 City and Canary Wharf companies dig deep to donate nearly 6,000 toys to the appeal, smashing ELBA’s previous record of 4,500 toys in 2010.

The gifts, ranging from computer games to cuddly toys, were handed out to 54 community organisatons and groups across east London including Eva Armsby Family Centre in Tower Hamlets, the Rainbow Children’s Ward at Newham Hospital and the Sebright Children’s Centre in Hackney.

The gifts were collected and sorted by ELBA’s business volunteering team, Forida Khanom, Emrana Akthar and Sarah-Jayne Guerrero, with the support of seven volunteers from BP.

The team ensured all of the organisations got the presents they requested, with some receiving even more than they had hoped for, making for an extra special Christmas for many children.

Forida Khanom, ELBA team leader said: “We’ve had an unprecedented number of presents this year, far more than we expected. This is our ninth appeal and we are very pleased to see the support and generosity of our member companies and others grow bigger and bigger every year.”

Peter Joseph, Co-ordinator at the Eva Armsby Family Centre in Tower Hamlets said: “I just want to say thank you very much for the generous donation of toys we received from the Elba Toy Appeal 2011. The toys were given to children who are definitely in need and come from vulnerable families who do not always have sufficient funds to purchase Christmas presents for their children. The presents donated by Elba have brought joy to many of the children who are experiencing difficult circumstances within their families at a time that most people take for granted.”

ELBA would like to say a big thank you to all the companies and individuals who donated so generously to the 2011 Toy Appeal, our most successful yet!