Tayside Tesco call centre staff have helped more than just a little to make Christmas a bit brighter for local youngsters.
The team at the supermarket giant’s customer engagement centre in Dundee has delivered a stack of presents to this year’s Help for Kids toy appeal.
And their 240 Gifts of Hope represent £6,000 worth of fundraising by the kind-hearted Baird Avenue team.
It is their biggest donation yet to the charity.
Learning and development team leader Lesley George said: “Because we’re not in a store to take part in the Tesco toy appeal, we work closely with Help for Kids.
“We ask colleagues to buy a spread of gifts for all ages, each worth around £25.
“We usually launch in October so colleagues can take advantage of special offers and get more value for money.
“Everyone in the centre takes part, some sacrificing their secret Santa to give a little bit more.
“We do other things for charity, but this is our flagship fundraiser,” said Lesley.
She and colleague Gillian Beattie lead the organisation of the event.
And they have praised the generosity of all the centre’s staff.
But they say the secret to success is the support of Help for Kids.
Lesley said: “We love doing it and we are so delighted by the generosity everyone has shown again.
“But we would never know where to put all these toys.
“So Help for Kids gets them to those who really deserve a treat at Christmas.
“It’s a really great partnership.”
Overwhelming generosity
Stacey Wallace of Help for Kids said: “We are absolutely delighted once again to be working with Tesco call centre to bring the gift of hope to our local children.
“Each year brings so much happiness and I wanted to say especially this year a massive thank you to everyone involved.
“We know it’s been a tough year couple of years, yet they still support us in making sure no child goes without – it really is overwhelming.”
Help for Kids assisted more than 2,500 youngsters last year.
And this year’s appeal is proving to be another outstanding success.
The charity is facilitated by a partnership between radio station Wave FM, Overgate Dundee and The Evening Telegraph.
