Some of you will know this little girl, some of you won't but this is Ella. She is 8 and 3/4 (as she will confidently tell you) and loves to sing, dance, visit new places and meet animals. She might look like a very ordinary 8 year old but she is very special. Unfortunately, Ella has had a very tough time in recent years and while I (and more recently, Beth) have looked after her and tried to give her a few more opportunities, day to day life is pretty miserable. Ella's Mum (Dee) had a series of issues this year, including losing her job working with young offenders and this has led to some serious financial issues. Dee has always put Ella first so she gets school uniform and other basics, but that's about it. They can't afford to go out. They can't afford to buy nice clothes (several people have given the ones in this picture as she grew out of hers) and recently have had to rely on food banks and us for food. We were able to give Ella a lovely few days at half term but the latest setback is beyond our financial scope. Due to lack of funds Dee has not renewed her house insurance and 2 days ago they were burgled. They have very little of worth but the culprits took Ella's tablet (all she had left from better times) and other items of worth that people had donated to Dee to sell to help their situation (we donated various clothes/books/games etc). As Christmas approaches, things look pretty bleak and Dee really has no support, no family close by and Ella is facing a Christmas without anything, never mind presents. This is the only thing I could think to do to help these two fantastic people. If each of my Facebook friends could give just a pound or two, I know its an expensive time of year, then at least I could replace her tablet as there will obviously be no other way to get it back. Otherwise if you have any items that might benefit an 8/9 year old then please drop us a message and we could pass them on to a good new home. Thank you all, sorry for the essay.