CHRISTMAS is coming and this week the Advertiser launches our annual Toys For Joy appeal to give sick children a December 25 to remember.
We need your help to collect as many toys as possible to donate to youngsters who have no choice but to spend the Yuletide in a hospital bed.
Today we call on our readers to donate new or nearly-new toys to Croydon University Hospital.
Mother-of-two Janice Sprouse has spent the past six weeks in and out of hospital with son Joel who suffers from the rare Femoral Hypoplasia and Unusual Facies syndrome.
The nine-year-old has already undergone 11 operations and must twice yearly have a growth rod operation on his back. Despite needing a wheelchair to get around, Joel has kept a smile on his face throughout every hospital stay.
He said: "It does get boring here and all the friends I have made have left now. I think the toy appeal will really cheer up the children that are here over Christmas."
His mother Janice, who has spent night and day with her son while in hospital, said: "It's very important that the children here are as happy as they can be. Christmas is about being at home and if that isn't possible then I'm sure the presents will cheer everyone up."
- Donate your new and nearly new toys to the appeal. Toys can be for babies, toddlers or older children up to 17-years-old, but if you are wrapping your gifts please make sure you label who they are for, an approximate age and whether it is a boy or a girl. Bring the presents to 12-18 Lennard Road, Croydon.
