HE step in to ensure children receive presents this Christmas

When the Children Law team at Harding Evans discovered that Newport City Council had lost regular contributors of Christmas gifts for children from low income families this year, and with Christmas fast approaching, they offered to help. The families being supported by Newport City Council are on low incomes and are struggling financially with funding gifts for their children to open on Christmas Day this year.

As well as collecting presents from the team internally at Harding Evans, local businesses and organisations, including The Warehouse Church, Cooltherm UK Ltd and DRAC Consulting, also donated to the appeal.

Siobhan Downes, Partner and Head of Harding Evans’ Children Law team commented “We couldn’t have been any happier with the response to the appeal. Not only were we able to provide presents for children in low income families being supported by Newport City Council, thanks to the generosity of everyone who got involved, we were also able to hand over gifts to BAWSO Women’s Refuge, for children accessing their services in Newport and Cardiff”.

Katie Davies, who works within the Children & Young People Services team at Newport City Council said “Following the pandemic we believed that challenges that families faced would ease. However, the energy and cost of living crisis has exacerbated the pressures on families and the amount of children at risk of not receiving gifts increased. Harding Evans not only answered our call for help to ensure all children received a gift, but the gifts were also of outstanding and personal quality. The workforce has been under huge pressure with reducing funding, so it has boosted morale to be able to ease a little pressure and promote Christmas cheer. Thank you Harding Evans”.

Lorna Wiggins from BAWSO, who are an all-Wales organisation supporting people affected by domestic abuse, human trafficking, FGM, forced marriage and other forms of violence, said “We would like to say a huge thank you to Harding Evans for their very generous donation of toys and games. We cannot wait to wrap them and give them to all of the children across our refuges and safe houses”.

The collection has ensured that over 130 children across Newport and beyond, will be waking up to presents on Christmas Day.