Toys Are Us

Thousands of deprived children in Cheshire and Manchester wake up to a sack of toys on Christmas morning, thanks to one special Knutsford couple. REBEKKA O’GRADY met them to find out more.

- Rebekka O'Grady

THIS Christmas, the average adult will buy 14 presents to be given to family, friends, colleagues and even pets. If you multiply that amount by 1,714, only then can you even begin to imagine the amount of time, effort and money that Chris and Dee Drake have gone through this year to ensure that on Christmas morning, local disadvantaged and vulnerable children will open a sack containing a few of the 24,000 presents the couple have collected in the last 12 months.

The Knutsford couple are the driving force behind the Toy Appeal, a charity which every year - with the help of over 200 volunteers creates a sack of toys to be given to thousands of children in the Cheshire and Manchester area living in poverty. To date, the couple have provided 4,112 to children, and this December they plan to meet a new target of 3,000 sacks.

Each festive red sack is made specifically for each child, based on their age, gender and any special needs they may have. Working together with social workers, schools and various drop-in centres, Chris and Dee are provided with lists of families who need help to ensure that their child receives something at Christmas. The couple then get to work raising money to buy gifts and setting up drop-off points for those who want to donate toys and presents, before meticulously counting how many toys there are and starting the personalised packing process.

‘I am really proud of it. I can’t believe how far it has come. So many people help it to get bigger and better each year – we just love doing it,’ said Dee, who started working on the toy appeal in December 2012, when she and Chris took a sabbatical from work.