DONATIONS from across Peeblesshire have helped a charity to clean up this Christmas.

WomanKIND has been showered with toiletries for its handbag project after an appeal to create over 450 women and men’s bags. The toiletries were donated from residents across Peeblesshire, Clydesdale, Midlothian and Glasgow.

Run by 60 volunteers, the scheme first kicked off two years ago with over 200 bags packed and delivered to local agencies and foodbanks around Biggar over the festive period.

This has now expanded with ladies’ and men’s bags distributed in Peebles, Midlothian, Dumfries, Clydesdale and Hamilton.

The charity hopes the project will bring a smile on Christmas day to the faces of the receivers and also provide the essential basics and a touch of luxury that many simply just cannot afford.

The idea is one of many that WomanKIND have devised and delivered based on small acts of kindness, something they encourage the whole community to get involved with.

Jan Currie, WomanKIND chairperson said: “I must highlight in the first instance, the generosity of WomanKIND Clydesdale’s team for providing the ribbons, sticky tape and packing materials and for everyone not only from Biggar, which is home, but from all over Lanarkshire and Peeblesshire, for donating bags, toiletries and gorgeous gifts to go in the handbags. Their kindness, once again has blown us away.

“Realising that men would appreciate a gift at Christmas too, the team at WomanKIND also made over 100 ‘manbags’ this year – containing some useful toiletries.”

To help build donations, pupils from Biggar Primary School devised an advent calendar with a difference, entitled ‘12 days of giving in kind’ with a callout to the whole school and the wider community to donate toiletries for the scheme.

And Jan hopes to extend this to more schools next year.

“We plan to contact all Peebleshire primary schools to join in with the acts of kindness for 2018. All of our gifts have been very well received this year and WomanKIND aim to do even more next year.”

To support the group, or find out more, visit WomanKIND Clydesdale on Facebook, the website at www.womankindclydesdale.org.uk or email womankindcl@gmail.com