Thousands of children across North Yorkshire will benefit this Christmas as families are encouraged to donate their quality pre-loved toys to the Reuse Santa appeal.
Thousands of children facing financial hardship will receive pre-loved gifts this Christmas.
Clean, complete, and working toys, games, books, and puzzles will be given a second life through the annual Reuse Santa appeal.
The initiative aims to distribute donated items to families across North Yorkshire and York who need them the most during the festive season.
Quality donations will be accepted from November 15 to 29 at all household waste recycling centres across the region.
Last year, more than 5,000 toys were redistributed to local families. Organisers noted this amounted to the equivalent of around 80 giant Santa sacks.
Now in its eighth year, the appeal is run by Yorwaste in partnership with North Yorkshire Council, City of York Council, and various local charity and community partners.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for waste services, Councillor Richard Foster, said:
"The Reuse Santa campaign does a fantastic job of encouraging people to donate their pre-loved toys rather than throwing them out.
"The donations help to support children, young people and families while keeping usable items in circulation.
"Christmas can be a time when finances are tight, so the aim of the scheme is to relieve some of the burden.
"All we ask is that the gifts are in a condition that you would like to receive, and please remember that we can’t accept toys powered by mains electricity."
Once collected, the donations will be distributed through a network of partners. These include North Yorkshire Council’s Early Help service, community groups within the City of York Good Place Network, the Colburn Community Hub, the British Heart Foundation, the Daisy Chain Project, and The Recycle Project CIC. Officials say some items may also be passed to charity shops.
City of York Council's executive member for environment and climate emergency, Councillor Jenny Kent, said:
"Reuse Santa is a wonderful example of how a simple act of generosity can make a real difference to families across York and North Yorkshire.
"By donating good quality toys, books and games that are no longer needed, we can all help bring joy to local children while reducing waste and giving items a second life.
"We know that Christmas can be an expensive time for many families, and this scheme helps support those who may be struggling while encouraging a more sustainable approach to sharing and reusing.
"I encourage anyone with clean, complete and working toys to consider donating them and help to make Christmas special for a local child."
Those wishing to donate can find details of their nearest recycling centre on the North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council websites.
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