A COMMUNITY group intent on putting smiles on the faces of children and people in need this Easter was ‘amazed’ by the response to its Easter egg appeal and the generosity of people in West Devon and East Cornwall.

The group, Community Smiles, appealed to the public for donations of chocolate eggs to be able to give children and people less fortunate a touch of joy over the Easter period.

Throughout February people were able to donate eggs to various collection points in Tavistock, Callington Launceston and Saltash and a total of 350 eggs were collected.

Clare Max, from Community Smiles, said: ‘We had an amazing response with 350 eggs donated — we had some lovely commercial donors.

‘We were delighted with such a fantastic response as our aim was for 200 eggs — one collection point almost had that on its own!’

The group was able to donate 20 eggs to Callington Foodbank, 20 eggs to Tavistock Foodbank, 30 eggs to Launceston Foodbank, 30 eggs to Saltash Foodbank, 30 eggs to St Theresa‘s Care Home in Callington, 30 eggs to Appleby Care Home in Callington and 122 eggs and five bunnies to Derriford’s children’s wards. The success of the appeal meant that the group was also able to donate an extra 80 eggs to the Devonport Homeless Shelter.

‘We have had some amazing personal donations and from businesses. We are so very grateful to everyone who donated. A special thanks has to go to the businesses that acted as our collection points — without them we wouldn’t have been able to run the Easter egg collection. We also had help from a local courier company who did our largest deliveries to Devonport Homeless Shelter and Derriford’s Children’s Wards. Tavistock Tesco and Saltash Waitrose also supported our appeal with generous donations.’

Valerie O’Neill, from Tavistock Foodbank, said: ‘We were extremely grateful to the group for the donation of eggs. They came in in plenty of time. Sometimes people donate things for Easter but they get to us too late, but their timing was perfect and we were able to give them out with parcels for Easter.

‘These occasions are very special and with the foodbank being a Christian organisation and Easter being a Christian festival, they are important times for us and this donation fits beautifully with the foodbank values.’

Sue Rodgers, play specialist Team Leader at Derriford Hospital, said: ‘The children’s wards want to thank Community Smiles for its generous gift of 122 Easter eggs and bunnies, which have brought a lot of pleasure to those children that have to spend time in hospital over the Easter period.

‘It is always appreciated when individuals and groups such as Community Smiles take the time to collect donations for the paediatric wards, particularly at times when families try to spend time together. By being able to offer a little bit of normality, by giving our patients an egg, it helps to alleviate some anxieties around being in hospital. We thank them for all their support.’

The Easter appeal followed the success of the group’s first appeal at Christmas where it was part of a bigger group across the South West collecting all sorts of donations for homeless people.

With a second successful appeal now under its belt, the group is taking a short break before undertaking another Christmas appeal this year, details of which will be confirmed in September.

Anyone who would like to get actively involved in the appeals or businesses who would like to help can contact Community Smiles via email on [email protected]