Dunelm's Hemel Hempstead store launches Community Christmas Gift Appeal

Vulnerable adults and underprivileged children will benefit from a Community Christmas Appeal launched by Dunelm in Hemel Hempstead.

A number of local organisations - including a woman's refuge, a hospice, Woodfield School for Special Needs and care homes - will receive gifts this year as part of Dunelm's 'Delivering Joy This Christmas' appeal.

The original idea was for customers to pick a tag from the Christmas tree in store, and buy a gift, but due to store closures across England, Dunelm has changed the activity slightly so that people can still donate shoe boxes.

Customers now need to request a tag from the Hemel Facebook community group - www.facebook.com/groups/236394630809033 - instead, and drop the shoebox in store between December 2 and December 11.

Tobias Charles Morris and Roseanna Ginger run the store's Facebook page and are volunteering to run the campaign for the London Road store.

Roseanna said: "We have not done this before, we decided to do something different this year, if it works well we could do it again next year.

"Customers come into store and choose a gift tag from the tree, that has been pre-written with someone's age and gender on.

"They take it away and choose a gift for up to £10 and then bring it back to store, we have shoebox's if people want to bring it back in a shoebox, but they don't have to.

"Then the gifts will be sanitised and the volunteers will wrap them and distribute them to the businesses/organisations we are working with.

"The gifts are for a real mixture of ages and we hope that it makes people smile this Christmas."

For more information or to get involved with the campaign pop in store and speak to Tobias or Roseanna, or visit: www.facebook.com/groups/236394630809033.