More than 650 presents donated to toy appeal

The staff at Butterfly Café were joined by the children's minister's team as the presents were sent off for delivery

More than 650 presents have been donated to a special children's Christmas appeal.

The staff at the Butterfly Café in St Helier set up the campaign to support youngsters who were in care, in need or care leavers.

The presents are for people aged from babies to 25 year olds.

The Butterfly Effect, a non-profit venture which runs the cafe, offers abuse survivors in Jersey support, training and job opportunities.

In total 657 presents were donated to the toy appeal

Cheyenne O'Connor, a founder of The Butterfly Effect, organised an online wish list and received donations in person for the appeal.

She said "I absolutely love it" and "I think it's about the community coming together at Christmas".

Ms O'Connor added "we know what it's like to wake up with nothing or not have the best Christmas and that's why we think every child should have at least something to wake up to".

The presents were wrapped and delivered on Thursday and will be handed out by staff across the Children, Young People and Families department.

The Children and Families Minister Constable Richard Vibert praised the work of the Butterfly Café

The Children and Families Minister Constable Richard Vibert said it was "an absolutely fantastic achievement" and "these presents will make a big difference over Christmas".

"We (the government) has supported the Butterfly Café throughout its life so far, but the workers here have done some fantastic work and I can't say enough about that."

Cheyenne O'Connor (left) and the minister helped load the presents up before they were sent off