Brighton's Churchill Square helps sick children at Christmas

The Giving Trees will continue to be in Churchill Square until Christmas Eve.

Supporting the Brighton-based children’s charity, Rockinghorse, the annual campaign encourages shoppers to help poorly children experience the magic of Christmas.

By taking special tags hung from one of the trees dotted across the centre, which will have with the name and age of a child, shoppers can then purchase a gift before dropping it off with the team in the centre.

So far more than 200 gifts have been donated, and Churchill Square Centre director,Mark Buchanan-Smith issued a rallying call for even more donations with the countdown to Christmas now into its final week.

He said: “Rockinghorse is a fantastic organisation and I’d really encourage everyone to take part in the Giving Tree initiative.

“Every child should experience the magic of Christmas, and by donating to our Giving Trees, shoppers can help youngsters get just that.

“There is still plenty of time to donate with the trees being in the centre until Christmas Eve, so anyone coming in search of last-minute purchases can get involved and help make this festive season extra special for children in Brighton.”

Mark and members of the team at Churchill Square spent time recently visiting The Royal Alexandra’s Children’s Hospital to give out some of the gifts that had been provided by shoppers already.

He said: “It was brilliant seeing the reaction of the children as they got their gifts.

“They really mean the world to the children that receive them and for those that are unable to go home for Christmas Day it does make such a difference.”

To take part in the Giving Tree campaign, those visiting the centre should take a tag hanging from any one of the three trees and purchase the recommended gift.

They can then take the present to the customer services desk, unwrapped and with the tag on, any day until Christmas Eve.

Rockinghorse is a highly popular Brighton and Hove charity supporting local children.