A SOCIETY hopes to bring solace and Christmas cheer to children in the county with a very generous donation to this year's Dorset Echo Christmas Toy Appeal.

The Dorset Society of Men has kindly backed this year’s campaign with a £200 donation to go towards buying gifts for children in the county who might otherwise go without on December 25.

Sam Woodcock, charity coordinator for The Society of Dorset Men, said: “The Society of Dorset Men have supported the Dorset Echo Toy Appeal regularly in the past.

“This year due to recent lockdowns and high profile cases in the news, we decided to increase our donation to this most worthy cause, in the hope that we can bring some solace and Christmas cheer to the underprivileged children living in our county."

The cheque was presented by the society’s vice president Paul Atterbury at their annual Christmas lunch on Sunday December 5 at the Crown Hotel in Blandford.

The festive lunch also raised £250 for The Weldmar Hospice in Dorchester via a charity raffle for a special Christmas hamper.

Mr Woodcock added: “An excellent lunch was followed by community carol singing. All in all a total of £450 was therefore raised by the society for those in need in our county.”

Records indicate the society goes back as far as the 17th century and now has more than 900 members, all of whom have a shared passion for Dorset.

Last year the Dorset Echo raised its highest ever amount of £5,432 despite the pandemic, smashing the previous year’s total of £4,933.05. It is thanks to donations like this that the figure is well on its way to being beaten again this year - and by some margin.

Debbie Hellaby Newsquest group promotions manager said: “Sourcing, collecting and organising the toys for hundreds of children is not an easy task, the toys are usually matched to the age and interest of each child individually.

“We are delighted to accept the support of the Weymouth Rotary Club to facilitate the collection and collation of toys.”

Toy donations made at the collection points located across the whole of Dorset were collected on Monday December 6 to be distributed to youngsters and are no longer in place.