District families will have more to smile about this Christmas thanks to the amazing work being done under the umbrella of the Marc Kingston Memorial Toy Run.
Run by the Ulysses Motor Cycle Club, in conjunction with the Deniliquin Antique Vehicle Club and Deniliquin’s The Salvation Army, a collection day will be held in the Deniliquin CBD this Saturday.
Providing a much needed boost is a sizeable donation from the White Lion Social Club, which has been able to contribute 47 individual gifts to the pool of items to be delivered to local families.
White Lion Social Club member Brenda Sutton said it’s the result of the club’s well supported weekly meat raffles at the hotel.
“The social club costs just $20 a year to join and we host a raffle every Friday night to raise money for the local community,” she said.
“At our last meeting someone suggested we make a donation to the toy run, and we thought ‘why not?’.
“After touching base with the motorcycle group, we then went to Wired and purchased $1000 worth of toys.
“Wired even provided us a bit of a discount so we could do even more good.”
Ulysses member and toy run coordinator Peter Nankivell said he was “blown away” at the generosity.
“I was approached by Neville Lester, who is a member of that social club, a few weeks ago who said they wanted to make a donation.
“The amount really blew me away. Most people only donate one or two gifts or a little bit of money.
“Every gift helps, and this amount on top of the other donations we will receive will be much better for those who need an extra hand this Christmas.”
This Saturday’s toy run collection day will begin from 8am, and toys can be dropped off right up until lunch time.
Donated items should be new, or as new, and Mr Nankivell said they’re particularly asking people to think about older children this year.
Historically a lot of the donations have been for younger children, but Mr Nankivell said they hope to cater to more teenagers as well.
The collection day will be complemented by a display of motorcycles and antique vehicles.
The Deniliquin Salvation Army will also be there with a few treats.