Member Article

Walter Thompson helps transform Christmas

ONE of the region’s leading building contractors have been helping to give disadvantaged children a Christmas to remember.

Employees at Northallerton-based Walter Thompson have been collecting gifts and donations for TFM Radio’s Cash for Kids Mission Christmas charity over the past few weeks.

The company has been running similar appeals for three years, but organiser Tessa Harker says this year’s response has been the best yet.

“We’ve been inundated with gifts and money from Walter Thompson staff and others from the FT Group. We’ve also received gifts from friends and family of staff members who’ve heard about the appeal,” explained Tessa, a contract administrator at family-owned Walter Thompson.

“The idea started three years ago when I was driving into work and heard the appeal on the radio. I just felt I wanted to do something – it can’t be right that in this day and age there are children waking up on Christmas Day who will get nothing.

“It shouldn’t be happening, and hopefully we’ll have made a difference. I spoke to the organisers at TFM who said the appeal was going well, but they were a bit short of gifts for teenage boys. So we’ve spent the money that people have donated on presents especially for them.”

Paul Hammerton, Managing Director of Walter Thompson, said he had been amazed at the generosity of employees: “We started our collection in October and the response has been truly outstanding.

“Christmas is about spending quality time with family and friends and seeing children’s smiles after Father Christmas has left them a present or two. The thought that some children will have nothing to smile about at Christmas is heart breaking.

“I’ve been delighted at the response of our team and proud that we’ll make a real difference to many families. We chose TFM’s Cash for Kids Mission Christmas as it is a local charity with the aim of providing Christmas gifts to disadvantaged children throughout the north east region.”

Cash for Kids was established in 1996 as the official charity of TFM Radio & Magic 1170, and their aim is to make a long-term difference to, and enhance the lives of, disabled and disadvantaged children and young people in the South Durham, Teesside and North Yorkshire Region. This year’s Mission Christmas appeal is being run in partnership with Bannatyne Health Club and Spa and aims to collect donations for 40,000 children.

For more information, go to www.tfmradio.co.uk/mission/

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Walter Thompson .