Police cadets are spreading festive cheer across Nottinghamshire by supporting a charity’s efforts to wrap thousands of Christmas presents for underprivileged children.
Nottinghamshire Police’s cadet bases in Bulwell, Bestwood, Hyson Green, Arnold, Newark, Worksop, and Mansfield each spent a session during December wrapping presents and preparing gift packages for Bags of Blessings.
The charity supports young people across Nottingham to improve their lives and combat poverty by collecting and distributing donated gifts to children aged 16 and under who may not otherwise receive a present at Christmas.
Cadet Natalia, aged 16, said: “It’s our contribution, this is our way of giving back. It’s passing on that joy that we can share with others.
“I keep coming back to cadets because I enjoy being able to give back to the community through events or just learning about problems in the community that we can solve in our own way.
“It makes me feel really grateful and I’m just really happy that I’m able to do something like this.”
Across the seven bases, the cadets worked in groups to wrap as many presents as possible, totalling an estimated 703 bags, each containing at least three gifts, a stationery pack, and a reading book.
In Mansfield, 26 cadets teamed up to individually wrap more than 600 gifts, bringing the total to 3,515 presents.
Bags of Blessings, based in Daybrook, provides donation boxes for schools, churches, and businesses to collect small toys, games, toiletries, and warm clothes.
Donations are sorted into age groups, wrapped, placed in a drawstring bag, and distributed to food banks, homeless and refugee charities, and other organisations that support children from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Cadet Jack, aged 15, added: “It was like a little race on our table to wrap the most presents, I’ve been through about four or five bags!
“It makes me feel good in myself knowing that it’s giving those children hope and giving back to people who are less fortunate.”
Volunteer Police Cadets are the nationally recognised police uniformed youth group in England and Wales.
Each cadet base offers unique and exciting opportunities for young people to learn about different aspects of policing and develop invaluable life skills, including communication, teamwork, and problem-solving.
Sessions can include visits from different police departments, assisting with community events and initiatives, and other fun activities.
A team of more than 50 volunteers, comprising police officers, staff, and members of the public, offer their time, skills, and knowledge to help run the weekly cadet base sessions during school term time for 148 young people across Nottinghamshire.
Shaun Ostle, Nottinghamshire Police’s cadets lead, said: “We’re delighted to help support Bags of Blessings again this year.
“This is the third year that cadets have wrapped presents for the charity, which has resulted in thousands of gifts for the most deserving children.
“All of our cadets have done an excellent job; their teamwork and enthusiasm are a credit to Nottinghamshire Police.”
Chris Shuter, Bags of Blessings co-founder, said: “It was, as always, an absolute pleasure for our teams to work with the police cadets again this year.
“Everyone came back eager to share their experiences and the common theme was that the cadets are friendly, courteous, welcoming, and very good company.
“They work with great care, wrapping our gifts for underprivileged children, and I am sure that every child who receives one of the bags wrapped by your cadets will be excited to unwrap all their lovely work on Christmas morning.
“It is a privilege to work with these remarkable young people and we look forward to seeing them again next year.”
