Inside the project donating thousands of gifts

On Christmas Day, more than 2,000 vulnerable people in Telford and Wrekin who otherwise might not have had anything to open will get to unwrap gifts with their families, thanks to a local charitable project.

The Christmas Smile Project started in 2013, and donated gifts to 125 children with food bank parcels.

There were so many donations, some gifts had to be stored until the following year, and the project took on a life of its own.

Run entirely by volunteers, Christmas Smile now sees thousands of people in the borough given new, wrapped gifts to open on 25 December.

All of the project's work happens between November and December each year.

Organisations from across Telford and Wrekin including the council, charities, and care homes, refer individuals and families to the Christmas Smile team.

Once the list is compiled, the next job is getting enough presents to go around.

In November, the public and businesses are asked to start donating Christmas gifts to the project.

"We ask for anything that you would like to give that's new," said referrals manager Jo Barrow.

"We like craft sets for kids, smelly sets for mums and dads, we like loads of toys, footballs," she said.

The volunteers aim to give families, especially children, an experience on Christmas Day.

"We give three to five gifts per child, and we also give something for mum and dad to open, so it's a family occasion," she said.

"We also give a selection box for each child, and a game or a jigsaw that they can open on Christmas Day that they can play together as a family."

With thousands of people to cater for, it is all hands on deck.

In December, volunteers begin selecting, sorting, and wrapping the donated presents for each individual.

For the last two years, the project has been based at Telford's Gurdwara.

Open days are held there, where the public can drop in to help the core volunteer team get everything wrapped and ready to be given out.

"The only way we make this magic happen is having people coming in and helping," said Ms Barrow.

"I've been involved year-on-year for about eight years now, I just think this is such a critical service for the community.

"It just makes me feel so humbled that I can help at least one family in this community and that's what it's all about isn't it?

"Giving back to others and making everyone have the best Christmas."

For volunteer Angela Davies, the project brings a lot of emotions.

"I've semi-retired from work, but in every waking moment of my non-working life, it's here, and my children think I live here," she said.

"It's all-consuming… it's hard to walk away at the end."

She said pressures on families at Christmas time were "immense".

"It's sad that we can't help everybody."

"It's happy, it's joyous, because we are helping so many families who, if we hadn't been involved, perhaps wouldn't have anything on Christmas morning to open, or very little."

With all of the presents now sitting under hundreds of Christmas trees ready to be opened, Christmas Smile does not start taking donations for Christmas 2025 until next November.

However, it is clear that knowing their work makes a difference sticks with the volunteers all year round.

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