Two brothers have given hundreds of advent calendars towards a toy appeal for their fellow youngsters.

Neo Jain Naha, ten, and sibling Rico, eight, raised donations to pay for the gifts from friends, family, school and the wider community.

They handed over around 450 advent calendars to charity Ambition, Aspire, Achieve (AAA) at its base in Canning Town.

READ MOREItems signed by West Ham legend Mark Noble among donations for toy appeal

AAA is once again running the Kevin Jenkins OBE Newham Christmas Toy Appeal in partnership with the Recorder to provide gifts for disadvantaged children.

It is not the first time Neo has supported the charity, having also donated advent calendars last year.

Neo, who attends Forest School near Snaresbrook, formed the group Treats For Kids with the help of his mother Rina in 2020.

They also donate Easter eggs to AAA’s Easter Appeal, which is also supported by the Recorder.

Neo's achievements were recognised when he was announced as a winner of a Ilford Recorder/Redbridge Rotary Young Citizen Award earlier this year.

He said: “This is our fifth appeal. We’ve so far given over 10,000 treats to over 12 organisations in that time and we are very happy to once again be doing our bit for AAA and their appeal.

“With the cost-of-living crisis we have been incredibly grateful for all the donations received that we can continue our work for Treats for Kids.”

AAA’s chief executive Jonny Boux added: “It’s an amazing achievement, we are very grateful to the youngsters.”

Newham Recorder: AAA's Jonny Boux and Hamish Anderson in Downing StreetAAA's Jonny Boux and Hamish Anderson in Downing Street (Image: AAA)

The charity received another boost when prime minister Rishi Sunak ordered a Christmas tree from it for his private home at 10 Downing Street.

The chancellor's residence at number 11 had already ordered a tree for its lobby and have done so for some years.

Money raised will go towards AAA's work and Jonny said: “It was another boost for us and we had a slightly more eventful delivery this year – we were held up in Downing Street for a while as the PM was in the house about to leave for Prime Minister's Questions."

Anyone who would like to donate new gifts to the toy appeal can do so at the Terence Brown Arc in the Park hub in Bethell Avenue, Canning Town, from 9am until 5pm on Mondays to Fridays and between 10am and 2pm on Saturdays.  

Alternatively, buy a gift on AAA's Amazon wishlist amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/3GHSM2AO5OPZQ.

People can also donate money on a JustGiving page at justgiving.com/campaign/KevinJenkinsChristmasAppeal2022.

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