‘Santa’s Little Helpers’ group founder ‘overwhelmed’ by generosity of members during fourth year

The founder of the ‘Santa’s Little Helpers’ group has been left “overwhelmed” by the generosity of members for the fourth year running.

With the aim of helping the thousands of members, who are mostly parents and families in need, members of the Facebook group post toys they wish to donate to others for free.

Each year the items are claimed and given as presents, to support each other through what can be a financially challenging time of year for many.

The group now has more than 5,900 members, which has increased by 600 since the founder Emma Miller last spoke to the Chronicle & Echo in November.

Emma only anticipated the group would be a one off in 2019, but the fallout from the pandemic and the pressure of the cost of living crisis has seen the demand continue to increase.

“This year has been one of the busiest yet,” said Emma. “So many toys are posted daily and hundreds have been donated. There’s only a couple of toys left to be collected on our final day. It’s been really busy.”

The founder shared feedback given by one member, who praised how much the group has helped her and that she has been “overwhelmed by love and generosity”.

After this lady had major surgery for cervical cancer and lost her job to her illness, she has struggled and was unable to collect the items herself.

She said the amount that has been donated to her and her young daughter is “above and beyond” and to give back, she is already looking at what she can donate herself next year.

“There are nearly 6,000 members and I’m still adding people to the group daily,” said Emma. “It’s overwhelming to see how many items are donated, some are brand new.

“The most incredible thing is the people struggling and receiving donations post items on there as well. They pay it forward.

“It’s purely down to the generosity of the lovely members. They’ve created a community and I’ve witnessed so many helping each other – and there’s probably so much I don’t see. It’s incredible.”

Sharing why she set up the group four years ago, Emma added: “My mum was a single mother and I watched her work seven days a week to try and provide for me and my brother.

“At Christmas I always thought I was doing her a favour by asking Santa for gifts I knew my mum couldn’t afford, so it just shows you the innocence of a child and the expectation of Santa.”

Having sadly lost her mother to cancer six years ago, Emma hopes she would be proud of the group she created – and the fact it helps people in a similar situation to what she was once in.

The founder wanted to take the opportunity to issue some gratitude to those who have shown their support and kindness since the group reopened on October 29.

Ashway Prints provided posters to advertise the group more widely in shops across the town. Howden Insurance was one of the businesses to display the poster, and took toy donations to give to the group.

Angie Hackett, who runs the NN4 Traders Facebook group, donated a £100 Smyths voucher and this was spent on the children of a terminally ill mother.

Emma’s husband Shaun and his business, Viking Security Systems, donated £100 worth of toys and ZincBooks donated £100 worth of Smyths vouchers. Oncore Dance Academy also made a generous donation.

Lastly, The Tidy Co. donated hundreds of brand new baubles to give to individuals to decorate their Christmas trees.

There is one group member who continually goes above and beyond for others, and that is Benedetta Garba. Emma remains amazed by her generosity in collecting and taking donations to people who are not in a position to do so.

Emma wanted to issue a thank you to everyone in the group, for continually choosing to donate when they could understandably sell items for a few extra pounds instead.