Teenage Boy’s Christmas Gift Collection Begins Deliveries to Charity

A teenage boy, aiming to gather over 1,000 presents for The Salvation Army this year, has commenced the delivery of gifts to the organization. This marks the third consecutive Christmas that James, aged 15, is gathering presents from schools located in Stafford. His previous efforts resulted in 560 donations during his initial collection and 950 during the second. He noted that individuals were tallying the gifts, “hopefully trying to beat” the 2023 total. The Salvation Army described his endeavors as “absolutely brilliant.” James has motivated schoolchildren to contribute gifts, which have been stored at the schools prior to their transportation to one of the charity’s facilities in Hednesford. These presents will subsequently be distributed to individuals who might otherwise not receive a Christmas present. The Year 11 student remarked that there have been “some fantastic students” who contributed gifts. Donations have been made to three Stafford schools: Walton High School, Berkswich CE Primary School, and Leasowes Primary School. James further commented, “It’s been so lovely to see such, as a local community, almost like a family. We’re so close-knit together.” He also stated, “It’s important that everyone that wants to celebrate Christmas should be able to. Unfortunately that’s not the case for everybody. Even if it’s one life that we change at Christmas time, that’s better than nothing.” He expressed gratitude to all who supported him, describing the experience as “so rewarding” thus far. Gary Chatburn of The Salvation Army commended James for his assistance, noting that without individuals like him, many children “would go without Christmas presents and or very little at Christmas time.” Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.