Christmas is only one week away, so if you’ve not yet donated to our toy appeal campaign we’re urging you to do so before it’s too late.

The Recorder’s Christmas Toy Appeal, in partnership with Community Links, aims to make sure that no child in Newham goes without a present on the big day.

“The importance of this small gesture on young minds cannot be overstated,” said Recorder editor Michael Adkins.

“Everyone deserves to be treated to something special – even more so at Christmas time – and for children that can be as simple as having something to open that’s just for them.”

So far we have collected thousands of toys for young children across the borough, but we still want more.

The Recorder team is making its own donation of children’s books in the hope that it will provide something to inspire young minds.

The London Legacy Development Corporation, which runs Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, has said it is committed to beating last year’s donations to the toy appeal. This year marks the sixth time the group has taken part in the Recorder’s Christmas Toy Appeal.

Boss David Goldstone said: “We want to give as many Newham children as possible the joy of a present over the holiday season.”

You can help too by buying toys and donating them at any one of our 21 drop-off points. If you can’t get out to one yourself, call 020 7473 2270 to arrange for a member of Community Links to come and collect your donation.

And if you feel a little out of touch with what the youngsters are into these days but still want to help make sure no child has an empty stocking on Christmas morning then don’t worry.

You can make a cheque payable to Community Links Christmas Toy Appeal (Community Links, 105 Barking Road, Canning Town, E16 4HQ) and a volunteer will use the money to buy gifts on your behalf.

Even a small donation will go a long way in making Christmas a special time for young people.

Kevin Jenkins, founder of charity Community Links, said: “We really appreciate everything everyone has done so far, but this is a really challenging year.

“If people could dig deep and encourage their friends to give something too it would really help us to hit our target of giving away 15,000 gifts to deprived children in Newham this year.

“We are a bit short at the moment but we’re sure you can pull out all the stops to help us.”

The Recorder will donate 25 per cent of advertising money from the Christmas Toy Appeal pages this week to the appeal.