CLOSE Brothers Motor Finance employees in Northern Ireland collected 170 toys and presents as well as £290 in donations for Mission Christmas this year.
Dealers across Northern Ireland took part in the collection, with one dealer – Moy Auto Services in Dungannon – bringing in 46 presents after using a scanner-vision sign outside the dealership to alert customers to the good cause, which helps orphaned and disadvantaged children globally. Close Brothers’ head office also matched the cheque donations of £290, meaning the charity will receive £580.
The toys included pop-up tents, remote-control cars, building blocks, Lego, Barbie caravans, Mr Potato Heads, Nerf guns and jigsaw puzzles, and is one of the biggest collections that Mission Christmas received in Northern Ireland this year. The estimated value of the toys and donations is £2,000.
Mission Christmas is the Cash for Kids charity initiative that gathers gift donations in December. It means that lots of children will wake up on Christmas morning with toys to play with that they might not otherwise have had.
Gary McAdam, operations manager at the Northern Ireland branch of Close Brothers Motor Finance, said: ‘We’re overwhelmed by the hard work and generosity of our dealer partners and employees in gathering such a big collection of donations for a wonderful cause.
‘A particular thank-you needs to be said to Stuart McNeice and Maurice Hughes from Moy Auto Services and Marty Smith, one of the Northern Ireland account managers, for co-ordinating the charity initiative.
‘Mission Christmas was extremely grateful for the donation, and this was a great note to end the year on.’
Pictured are Close Brothers Northern Ireland account manager Aaron McKee, left, and operations manager Gary McAdam with the toy collection
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