Sheffield friends get huge response to appeal for charity Christmas gift hampers

Modest Daniela Allcroft and Rosie Khan weren’t interested in publicity but Daniela’s proud husband Mark contacted The Star.

Daniela said: “My neighbour and I three weeks ago decided to help a local Christian charity. We just texted some friends and neighbours, asking them to drop off food and gifts on my doorstep.”

The friends were overwhelmed by the response.

“I can’t even get in through the door some days,” said Daniela. “People have left mountains of things on the doorstep. It’s all from two to three streets in Sheffield.

“The charity couldn’t take them all, they didn’t have enough storage space, so we’ve gone out to the Salvation Army and food banks. It’s just been unbelievable.”

She added: “We thought we’d make 10 boxes if we were lucky.

"This is down to the generosity of the community. People have just gone out of their way to give. It’s mind blowing.”

Daniela lives in S10 near Westbourne School and Sheffield Girls High, who featured the appeal in their newsletters. Some children delivered beautifully-decorated hampers.

Local businesses that helped include My Fathers Heart, Muddy Faces, Linbrooke Services and poshpalletco.co.uk.

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Daniela reckons the donations were worth £10,000 and said: “It’s all gone to people who are living off food banks for various reasons.

"Some are older people living on their own or single mums with young babies, people that are on Universal Credit, have lost their jobs and got into debt and can’t make ends meet.”

The hampers each contain £40 worth of everyday food and Christmas treats. Hundreds of new Christmas gifts for both adults and children have also been dropped on the doorstep.

Food that couldn’t fit into the hampers for the charity, which works anonymously, has been taken to S6 and S2 food banks and the Salvation Army on Duke Street.

Other gifts went to Best Start, a charity helping young families, and the Snowdrop Project, helping local victims of human trafficking, and Sheffield Street Kitchen.

Daniela said: “Rosie and I have been fortunate enough to meet with the amazing people that run these charities and food banks and have been saddened to hear of the scale of food poverty within Sheffield.”

Daniela and Rosie are encouraging people wanting to make donations to contact [email protected], visit sheffields6.foodbank.org.uk or www.justgiving.com/campaign/40for40 or donate.Salvation Army.org.uk.

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.