Image: The Salvation Army
What began with a 12-year-old boy spending some of his own birthday and Christmas money on gifts for children he had never met eventually grew into a community-wide Christmas campaign. Oscar, from Cleckheaton in West Yorkshire, first started collecting presents for children who might otherwise have little or nothing to open on Christmas morning.
By the time the 2024 collection was delivered, there were enough presents to fill a school bus. The organisation said that the appeal had distributed 84,000 gifts to children across the UK the previous year, illustrating the scale of the need behind the annual campaign. In Batley, the local Salvation Army had provided gifts for 500 children the year before Oscar’s 1,000th-donation milestone.
Because people around him began contributing their own gifts, oscar’s campaign grew.
Major Paul Wilson, who leads Batley Salvation Army alongside his wife, Major Carolyn, said demand was expected to remain high. She had told her children that Christmas would not happen that year until the charity arrived with a box of gifts. The campaign eventually became much bigger than Oscar’s own contribution. His family, friends, customers at his parents’ business and pupils and staff at BBG Academy in Birkenshaw all joined in, turning what began as a small idea into a large community effort. The idea started with a conversation between Oscar and his mother, Emma, about children who believe in Father Christmas but whose families may not be able to afford presents. His school, BBG Academy, established collection points where pupils and staff could drop off presents. The school also organised a Christmas Fair to raise money towards the campaign. Oscar’s family helped spread the word, while customers of his parents’ business and friends also donated. The haul included toys, dolls, jigsaws, books and arts and crafts sets, among many other gifts. The presents were collected as part of The Salvation Army’s Christmas Present Appeal, which provides new gifts to children whose families are struggling financially. The gifts collected by Oscar and his supporters were sorted and distributed to children and families in the area through local groups, schools and social services. For some families, the presents can represent much more than a toy under the tree.
Emma recalled hearing from people who had previously received help from The Salvation Army, including one woman who had become homeless and was living in emergency accommodation before Christmas.
