Toy Bank Weekend at Gulliver’s World proves a big hit for KidsOut charity

A special weekend at Gulliver’s World in Warrington saw thousands of toys donated to KidsOut, a charity supporting children affected by domestic abuse.

The four Gulliver’s theme parks around the country stage a ‘Toy Bank Weekend’ each year, with entry discounted for families that bring a new, unused toy to donate.

This year’s event saw an incredible 2,625 toys collected across the four sites.

Craig Clews, resort director at Gulliver’s World, said: “The team here were so moved by how generous our visitors were over the weekend. The toys just kept coming and it’s great to think that these donations will help bring enjoyment to children who have been though such challenging times.”

Each year in England alone, more than 28,000 children along with a parent, flee domestic abuse to seek sanctuary in refuges or safe accommodation. These children will have witnessed or experienced emotional, violent, or sexual abuse and will typically arrive in refuge with nothing.

KidsOut is a national charity that supports thousands of these children by providing them with brand-new toys on arrival in refuge and again at Christmas. It also takes them on fun days out. The toys collected over the weekend will be included in the boxes of new toys that children receive when arriving in refuge so they have something to call their own.

Louise Sherwood, community engagement manager, at KidsOut said: “A massive thank you to everyone at Gulliver’s and their visitors across the four theme parks. The weekend was a tremendous success and the staff that helped on all sites were amazing. The donated toys will make such a difference to the children we support in Refuge.”

To find out more about the work of KidsOut, visit: https://www.kidsout.org.uk/

Toy Bank Weekend wasn’t the only big success at Gulliver’s World recently - Food Bank Weekend proved to be popular with visitors, with lots of much-needed supplies donated for Warrington Foodbank, part of The Trussell Trust, which has a network of more than 1,300 food bank centres around the UK.

Craig said: “So many toys and so much food donated over the two weekends, these events show what a fantastic community spirit there is among our visitors.”

Gulliver’s World is gearing up for a busy summer, with lots of rides, attractions, shows and activities on offer to entertain families. These include Desperado Drop,

Pirate Ship, Antelope Wooden Coaster, and the amazing animatronic dinosaurs.

There’s also Gulliver’s Gears car-themed area, home to the Grand Prix Racer rollercoaster and Overdrive – a 360-degree thrill and one of Gulliver’s most daring rides – and the Land of Oz themed area, which has a Winged Monkeys Wicked-inspired adventure and Munchkin Motors.

The park has a variety of cool family accommodation options for those looking to stay overnight, including an onsite hotel housing Unicorn, Cowboy, Sweetie and Pirate-themed rooms, and themed dens, lodges and tipis in Wilderness Wharf.

For more information and to book tickets, please visit www.gulliversworldresort.co.uk