If only the sight of children smiling on Christmas morning were priceless in every sense of the word.

Santa’s arrival and the presents left under the tree come at a cost. Unfortunately it’s one that many simply can’t afford.

But with your help, fewer children in Cumbria will wake up with plenty to smile about on Christmas Day.

Once again we’ve teamed up the CFM radio to support Cash For Kids with the News & Star Toy Appeal.

Just days on from its launch, your generosity is already clear. And we hope that many more of you will help us deliver Christmas cheer to thousands of homes.

Be in no doubt about the difference that you adding just one extra present to gift list can make.

Stephanie Fleck and Sara Oldham see for themselves all the time the impact that your goodwill has at what for many is the most under-pressure time of the year.

They lead Cash For Kids in Cumbria and south-west Scotland and are at the forefront of Mission Christmas, the cause the News & Star partners with for our annual plea for presents.

And they are constantly moved by the reaction they get from families grateful for a helping hand at what for many is the most difficult – rather than most joyous – time of the year.

With your help, we hope to help 7,000 children across the region this year – each of them receiving presents worth £65.

Sara first joined Cash For Kids and its Christmas appeal four years ago. She says: “I had one woman come up to me who says if it wasn’t for the appeal, her daughter would have had nothing on Christmas morning.

“She was in a situation that, through no fault of her how, she couldn’t afford to buy Christmas presents. She was lovely and so grateful. We hear many stories like that.”

The goodwill of people supporting the cause also never fails to amaze the team behind it.

Sara says: “I feel so proud of living in Cumbria. The people are so generous with their cash, whether it be in presents or giving us money. The amount of donations we get is just mind-blowing.

“We’ve had people asking where drop-off points for presents are going to be since September.

“When people support Cash For Kids, they know what they raise is going to be put to good use to help those who need it in this area.”

The appeal works with other children’s charities, social workers and other agencies to make sure the toys donated make it to the children who need them most.

Last year, News & Star readers donated gifts worth close to £100,000 to support the appeal.

The response following the launch of this year’s on Monday has already been impressive, with people going to our early drop-off points or picking up an extra gift to donate as they do their shop.

Once donations are delivered to a special warehouse, they are sorted by an army of volunteers into bundles for Santa’s helpers to deliver.

Carlisle-born Britain’s Got Talent winner Matt Pagan is among the early supporters of this year’s campaign, supporting the launch as he and his Collabro bandmates performed at Carlisle’s Christmas lights switch-on on Sunday.

Like us, he is urging you to be as generous as you can afford to help ensure no child goes without on December 25.

The need for your support is starker than many people realise, with levels of poverty in some parts of the county worryingly high as families cope to struggle with the day-to-day, never mind the added pressures of the festive season.

Stephanie says the applications for support can be moving.

This is her first Christmas working with the appeal in Cumbria, although she has been part of it in other areas.

“One in three children in our region live in child poverty,” she says. “To think that you’re just three doors away from someone suffering from poverty will astound many people. That’s why we want to help as many people as possible.”

Stephanie is sure that readers of the News & Star and listeners of CFM will respond in the same amazing way they have in recent years. “We find that day to day the generosity of people in the area is huge. Come Christmas everyone seems to exceed all of our expectations with what they do,” she adds.

Just think of your own family and the happy faces that fill your home on Christmas morning.

It’s those scenes that we want EVERY family to have this year.

Sara says: “Everyone should have a present to open on Christmas morning.”

The final date for collections is December 16. Gifts will be distributed through support agencies from mid-December.

To see the drop-off points as they’re updated, go to www.newsandstar.co.uk