Hundreds of families will be able to enjoy a merrier Christmas this year thanks to an outpouring of public support for the 20th annual Toys for Tots campaign.

The Coalition for the Protection of Children gave out hundreds of toys and food hampers — along with gas and electricity vouchers — today after the public answered the call for support.

Sloan Johnson, community and development co-ordinator for the Coalition for the Protection of Children, said that she was excited to see the amount of love shown by the community this year.

“Our goal was 2,000 donations, and while I haven’t counted for sure, I believe we have reached or exceeded that, so the community support has been fantastic,” she said.

Ms Johnson said that along with toys, members of the public stepped forward to donate vouchers to help families to pay their bills.

“I was really surprised to see the level of support we have this year,” she said. “Volunteers from HSBC came forward and helped us to put together more than 150 holiday hampers and more than 200 clients are going to be receiving toys.

“These sorts of events are important because we have members of our community who are struggling since the pandemic — and we had families struggling even before the pandemic exacerbated the issue.

“Parents are trying hard to make ends meet, but some times they find themselves falling slightly short. By the time they pay the Belco bill and the gas bill, there really isn’t anything left for things like Christmas.”

Ms Johnson said she became involved with the Coalition for the Protection of Children out of her desire to give back and described the annual toy drive as “icing on the cake”.

Kelly Hunt, the coalition’s executive director, said: “It’s a stressful time of year for everyone, but this is one time that families should be able to forget about some of their burdens.

“We rely on the community for support and this year they came through once again.”