Less fortunate children in Halton are in line for an Easter treat after the organisations behind the Mersey Gateway Bridge stepped in to save a local charity appeal which looked certain to be scuppered by Covid-19.
Construction consortium Merseylink and tolling operator merseyflow have donated £750 worth of Easter eggs between them to the Halton Easter Egg Appeal.
In previous years the campaign has been supported by local people who have donated additional eggs at the merseyflow walk-in-centre, but due to Covid-19 restrictions there is no public drop-off facility this year.
The Easter eggs are being given to Halton Children’s Centres in Runcorn and Widnes, and will benefit hundreds of disadvantaged children from some of Halton’s most deprived areas.
Denise Caldwell, Early Help Officer with Runcorn Children’s Centres, said: “It’s great that we are still able to provide some Easter eggs to local kids in both Runcorn and Widnes and I’d like to thank the teams at Merseylink and merseyflow for their support.
Hugh O’Connor, General Manager for Merseylink, said: “It’s good to be able to help out. When we realised that Covid-19 was going to prevent people from donating eggs this year we decided to step in and make sure the appeal went ahead.”
Helen Williams, Marketing Manager at merseyflow, said: “I’m pleased we’ve been able to find a way to keep this support programme going this year. Lots of families are going through a hard time and we are pleased to assist this wonderful charity helping Halton’s children at Easter time.”
A proportion of the eggs allocated to Widnes children’s centres will be given to families along with the provisions to make an Easter meal. The food will be provided by St Michael’s with St Thomas’s Church in Ditton, Widnes. They have funding to be able to provide 30 families with a meal for Easter Sunday.
