Cottage Centre gearing up for Christmas delivery

Giant-sized storage units on Hayfield Industrial Estate are also filled with crates waiting to be filled with the food which will see hundreds of Kirkcaldy families over the festive period.

And although there are bound to be some glitches tomorrow as the military-style delivery operation swings into place, by the end of the day the dozens of staff and volunteers who gave their time to the charity, will sleep well knowing it will make a REAL difference.

Families who may otherwise have been facing a very bleak Christmas will have a warm home, food on the table and a few precious gifts to ensure their children can have a good time.

With this year’s appeal helping 951 families, 134 more than last year, and almost TEN times the figure of five years ago, it has been a mammoth task to organise, giving centre manager Pauline Buchan and her team a number of sleepless nights over the past few weeks.

But now it’s almost over and after tomorrow night they’ll be taking a well-earned rest to sleep and enjoy time with their own families.

“We can’t put into words how grateful we are for the response we’ve had for our families who are living in significant hardship,” she said.

“Our wonderful staff and volunteers have been working round the clock organising toys, clothing and ordering food from suppliers.

“When we counted up the referrals for this year and saw that we were being asked to support 951 children and families it was scary, but thanks to the outstanding generosity of our community we will be able to.

“Without them we would never able to do this and many families would continue to suffer in silence.

“It’s important that our families know that suffering financial hardship does not make them bad parents and we recognise there are many difficulties faced by families for a multitude of reasons.

“We want them to know that as a community we care and want the best for them and we hope that what we do takes at least some of the stress from their often heavy shoulders.

“Every child deserves to feel happy, secure and special and this shouldn’t be dictated by financial status.

“We’re so proud of how everyone comes together when people need it, and we want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.”