Taunton mum collects toys for Musgrove Park Hospital children’s ward

Sarah Kana-ah, from Taunton, runs the collection every year and this Christmas she presented Musgrove Park Hospital with 915 toys.

This year, Sarah has also helped the homeless by collecting warm clothes and food thanks to an initiative launched by her 11-year-old son.

She said: “I’ve done it for three years now and in total over the three years have collected over 3,000 brand new toys for children in hospital at Christmas.

“This year thanks to the help of the local community, businesses, and schools I managed to donate just under 1,000 toys - 915 in total. I dropped them off on Christmas Eve.

“I feel truly grateful to live in such a supportive county like Somerset. I’ve collected toys for three years in a row for the children’s ward and everyone within the community has always been so supportive and generous - from local businesses, schools, and people who live in Somerset.

“Handing over the toys made me feel very emotional, knowing that I set up the appeal online on my own and managed to collect nearly 1,000 toys for children out there in need this Christmas in just under seven weeks.
"Without the people of Somerset though, I couldn’t have done it, so thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.

“Being a mum myself made me want to help families out there who have a child in hospital and families out there who have very little.

“I wanted to help take the pressure off the parents and bring a smile to a child’s face. Buying presents would be the last thing on their mind and some can’t even afford to, so for me to give back and make sure so many children across Somerset had something to open and a little gift this year means absolutely everything to me.”

Helping children at the hospital is a cause close to her heart and she explained: “I was in Musgrove back in 2011 with my son for several weeks when he was born due to being premature.

“He had to stay in the special care baby neonatal unit for a while so I know how stressful and hard it can be having a baby/child in hospital.

“When you’re a parent the priority is your child’s health not Christmas or buying gifts. I even forgot to eat when my son was in hospital as my mind was all over the place and focused on making sure he was ok and getting better.

“I know now if my 11-year-old son had been in hospital over the festive period, receiving a small gift would have brought a smile to his face.”

Sarah’s work in the community does not stop here. She has a mental health group and a platform called EMPOWER – Protecting Women’s Safety.

She holds the national title of Ms Diamond United Kingdom and will go to Las Vegas in July to compete with women from across the world for the international title, which in turn she hopes will help her promote these two platforms.

Sarah added: “I have platforms and a mental health group ‘Somerset Anxiety Support’, that helps anyone that is struggling with their mental health through social events, guest speakers, and activities.

“My other platform is EMPOWER - Protecting Women’s Safety, a group that empowers women through teaching basic self-defence techniques and teaching healthy boundaries and red flags in relationships.

“The hospital said the toys would be shared out to the children’s ward, mental health wards, and to underprivileged families across Somerset as well as women’s refuge. Being someone who struggles with anxiety and a survivor of abuse this means so much to me.

“Helping the community and promoting both my platforms means so much to me, so to win the international title and reach out to more survivors of abuse and mental health sufferers would mean the world to me.”