National Windscreens in the South West will be bringing a smile to lots of little faces this Christmas with a donation of more than 200 toys for children supported by leading UK charity, Barnado’s.
The toy pledge has been run as an internal initiative by National Windscreens in Bristol with support from Regional Sales and Marketing Director, Martyn Bennett, who decided that instead of the traditional Movember he would try and grow a goatee beard for Growvember!
He then pledged to dye it ‘Barnado’s green’ if more than 50 toys were donated, rather than asking for sponsorship.
The initial idea was inspired by a comment made by a staff members’ younger sister last Christmas about how excited she was about the thought of a child opening a present that she had donated through a toy scheme.
Martyn says, “Selecting a gift and imagining the pleasure that it will bring to a child is a great feeling. In a way, it’s more personal than donating money and reiterates that Christmas is about giving. One member of staff said that he was going to take his own children shopping for the toys so that on Christmas Day when they are opening their presents, they will be able to remember the toys they had bought for other children.
“It’s just a nice way of sharing a bit of Christmas spirit with young people that really need a bit of sunshine in their lives.”
National Windscreens has achieved its amazing toy total by encouraging staff to make their own donations, holding a bake sale to raise money to buy toys and asking its suppliers for their support.
Martyn explains why he decided to support the campaign by growing a goatee, “I have never grown any kind of beard before and I thought it would be a fun way of supporting this great cause. It’s certainly made a few people chuckle over the past month and dying it green was a fitting way of finishing before I shaved it off again!”
National Windscreens will be delivering the toys to Barnado’s South West in plenty of time for them to be given to the children at Christmas.
“We are all really proud of how many of our staff and suppliers have joined us to help make sure as many children as possible can enjoy a special Christmas this year,” continues Martyn. “We would like to thank each and every person who has helped us with our ‘toy-raising’ efforts during November.”
National Windscreens and its staff around the UK support a number of charities throughout the year – please click here to find out more.