Over £7,000 in Toys Donated to Christmas Drive Following ‘Santa’s’ Sponsored Walk

An annual toy drive, which seeks to “change lives” this Christmas, has received a donation of toys valued at over £7,000. An individual identified as ‘Santa’, along with his companions, completed a sponsored walk on Sunday, traveling from Twerton, Bath, to Weston-super-Mare. They subsequently presented the Avon Fire and Rescue Service with this contribution for its toy collection point. Firefighter Paul Johnson commented on the scale of the contribution, stating, “It’s the biggest donation of toys we’ve ever had.” He added, “It took 15 of us to unload it.” The fire service is encouraging the public to contribute toys by dropping them off at fire stations located in Southmead, Patchway, Bath, Avonmouth, or Weston-super-Mare. These donations are intended for distribution to disadvantaged families. During the “brutal” walk, which occurred amidst Storm Darragh, Santa and “his amazing friends” collected approximately £7,100 through bucket collections. Santa recounted to the BBC, “[Two people] tried giving up at eight miles but I’m not about that, I said ‘we’re just going to keep going’.” He further explained his motivation during the walk, stating, “I kept reminding them that there’s going to be kids who are going to have a better Christmas [because of this].” The funds accumulated by the group were used to purchase toys at a shop in Brislington. Subsequently, volunteers transported these toys to the fire station in Bath. Santa described the volume of items, saying, “This is one of about 10 cages we’ve got of toys. We’ve got brick-by-brick toys, dinosaurs, LED crystal lights.” He also remarked, “It’s gone a bit mad.” Mr. Johnson characterized the accomplishment as “incredible.” He elaborated, “It started out as just him and a friend thinking of the idea to just go for a walk for a bit of sponsorship, and it snowballed from there.” Mr. Johnson concluded, “The amount of lives that he’s going to change, it’s absolutely incredible.” Donations of toys can be made at the fire stations from 09:00 to 15:00 GMT.