Friends Alyssa and Sienna are thinking about those less fortunate this festive season
11-year-old pals Alyssa Mawdsley and Sienna Johanson raised cash and bought gifts to donate to the Kirkby Toy Appeal
Two young girls have shown exactly what the spirit of Christmas should be after helping to raise cash and buy toys for other kids less fortunate than them this festive season.
Friends Alyssa Mawdsley and Sienna Johanson, both 11, have worked with their families to raise money before heading to buy toys and deliver them to the Kirkby Christmas Appeal, which collects toys and gifts for children whose families are struggling at this time of year and unable to buy presents.
The girl’s parents had a whip-round to raise some money before the two generous girls travelled to their local B&M Bargains store and bought as many toys as they could find. Alyssa’s dad, James Mawdsley, explained his daughter has been keen to help others for a while and last year organised a collection of toys to be delivered to Alder Hey.
James told the ECHO: “Alyssa has done a lot to help other people. She has done multiple runs for Cancer Research after she lost her uncle.
“We and our friends all wanted to teach our kids that this time of year is not just about receiving gifts, it is about giving to others.
11-year-old pals Alyssa Mawdsley and Sienna Johanson raised cash and bought gifts to donate to the Kirkby Toy Appeal
“We know there are a lot of kids who need this. The person at the toy appeal told us that they have bagged up presents for 950 kids already.”
Speaking about his kind-hearted daughter, James added: “She is really excited about Christmas but she’s also concerned about other people and helping them.
“If she gets too similar toys, she will always want to make sure one of them goes to someone else.”
Alyssa and Sienna were joined by their dads James and John as they dropped off the toys they had bought at the collection point on Saturday.
In a post on facebook, the Kirkby Christmas Toy Appeal shared some images of the girls delivering their presents.
The post said: “Who better to select gifts for 11-year-old girls than 11-year-old girls. Thank you very much to Sienna and Alyssa this morning.
“Accompanying their dads with lots of fabulous gifts and a box of batteries to light up the town’s Christmas lights.”
To find out how to donate to the Kirkby Christmas Toy Appeal, visit their facebook page.