Domestic abuse: Northumberland woman donates hundreds of gifts to families

The sheer number of gifts received will not only help people at Christmas, but will also be distributed in the new year

A woman has delivered hundreds of Christmas gifts to victims of domestic abuse and their families after an appeal on Facebook for donations.

Kimberley Sharp, from Northumberland, started A Child's Wish on 5 November to help families who have fled domestic and physical abuse.

Within days of posting the appeal, cash donations and presents came flooding in from local people and businesses.

The 36-year-old said she was "blown away" by everyone's generosity.

Kimberley used cash donations to buy Christmas trees and make hampers for families to help them "feel festive"

Miss Sharp, a nursery worker from Morpeth, said: "This year has been really difficult for some many people and A Child's Wish has helped in more ways than I ever could've imagined.

"It's brought the whole community together... I never thought a few weeks ago when I had his idea that it would be as big as this, I'm blown away."

Kimberley said she wanted to help families in her local community at Christmas after such a "tough year"

Miss Sharp handed over hundreds of items including toys, books, clothing, bedding, sweets and toiletries to Domestic Abuse Support Service Northumberland (DASSN).

She decided to focus on families who use the service after a rise in the number of domestic abuse offences in England and Wales during the pandemic.

Kimberley said: "It's been such a difficult year, people have lost their jobs, but it hasn't stopped the community coming together to help."

Barbara Voisey, assistant services manager at DASSN, said: "It can be quite a difficult time of year for our customers and they come to us with little or no belongings - they certainly don't have the items they need in order to make their home feel festive.

"For everybody who has donated to the service, they should feel real pride in the fact that they've made Christmas for our customers a little bit brighter.

"The children that access our service will wake up to that little bit of Christmas magic in the morning, and not only will they have amazing presents, the mums will too.

"This certainly was an amazing random act of kindness."