Birmingham City Football Club has announced a new partnership with the Birmingham Children's Trust, delivering the care organisation’s biggest ever Christmas campaign, gifting a present to every young person under the care or support of the Trust.

Working with the Trust’s official charity, Bfriends, the club’s latest community initiative will supply more than 11,000 presents this December, with the team at Bfriends suggesting the most appropriate gifts for each age group.

Players from Birmingham City’s men’s and women’s teams will distribute the teddy bears, water bottles, woolly hats and blankets in the week building up to Christmas, to ensure that every child associated with Birmingham Children’s Trust has something to open.

Following consultation with the Bfriends team, it was clear that whilst the younger children would want a  teddy or a hat, the teenage care leavers often struggle with accommodation and rising energy costs, with a blanket being their preferred gift.

Fundraising for the gifts began at the club’s most recent business networking event, with £19,000 pledged from local organisations and partners. The fundraising culminates at Birmingham City’s match with Leicester City on Monday 18 December, with the game being themed “Blue Nose Day”, where the volunteers will sell novelty blue noses for £3 each, alongside other fundraising activities.

Garry Cook, CEO at Birmingham City Football Club, said: “When we look across our community, we know that an institution the size of Birmingham City has a duty to support as many people as we can. When we heard that many of the 11,000 children associated with the Children’s Trust would be without a gift this Christmas, we felt compelled to step in.

“The team at Bfriends do amazing work and we are pleased to have joined forces with them to put smiles on the faces of children and young people across our city this Christmas. A campaign of this size has never been delivered for children in their care in Birmingham before, so we are calling on all Brummies to support us with this amazing initiative. Birmingham City is more than a football club. We believe in the power of sport to change our city’s landscape and empower communities.”

To donate towards the gifts for Birmingham Children’s Trust, please visit the GoFundMe page here – each donation of £3 will represent another present for a young person in Birmingham.