Our Christmas campaign returns this festive season to ensure low-income and vulnerable families receive a Christmas gift on the big day. We need your help to make this the biggest year of Operation Christmas yet!
Operation Christmas works with local grassroots organisations and businesses to spread Christmas cheer across the city. We are thrilled to have Reed Recruitment Agency partner with us again this year to collect and donate presents.
Gilda Nolan, Business Manager at Reed Colchester shares “We’ve been partnering with Emmaus for Operation Christmas for over a decade – we love supporting the local community each year. We work with our clients to collect gifts and it’s such a feel-good factor when we see how many presents we’re able to donate. If we can make a difference to someone’s Christmas even in a small way – we’re delighted.”
Gifts will be distributed across the city to grassroots & charity organisations including Boaz Project, C3 Church, Kelly’s Café at Greenstead Community Centre and the Colchester Hospital Children’s Ward.
A family who receives support from Boaz Project didn’t want to provide their name but shared “Last year, we were in a dire situation just before Christmas, having arrived to work in the country and with no recourse to public funds. We had just had help from Boaz Project for food but thought we would have to explain to our three children why they wouldn’t have any presents to open on Christmas day.
“It was nothing short of a miracle that each of our three children had presents to open on Christmas morning, they were not the only ones who were happy, as parents, a huge burden was relieved for us.”
Last year, we were able to distribute 600 presents, which was the largest amount gifted since we started the campaign in 2013.
Darren Scott, our Business Manager says “Sadly, Operation Christmas is still a much-needed campaign in Colchester. We meet many families who are struggling to heat their homes and provide food for their children and Christmas, a time which is normally joyful can be very tough.
“At Emmaus, our residents & staff believe we should all help the local community in whatever way we can. We really hope that the public rallies around the campaign as they have so generously done in previous years.”
Support Operation Christmas!
We would love your donations towards the campaign. Please donate unused and unopened gifts for children aged 0-16. The gifts can include:
- Toys
- Games
- Stationery
- Books
- Luxury Toiletries
- Sweets
- Gift Vouchers
Items should be donated unwrapped to our warehouse or Works shop on 4A Arthur Street, CO2 7DT, Monday to Saturday, 9am – 5pm.
The deadline for donations is Wednesday 13th December.