The children's charity Barnardos has kicked off its third annual Christmas toy appeal this morning.
The charity, in conjunction with AIB, aims to collect as many toys and books for children as possible in the weeks coming up to Christmas.
The appeal, unveiled by model Laura Bermingham aided by a team of children dressed as Santa's Little Helpers, will run from November 29th to December 17th.
Members of the public are encouraged to bring new, unwrapped toys to any branch of AIB bank and leave them in the special Better Ireland toy appeal bag. All gifts will go to needy families.
Ms Colette Miller of Barnardos said: "The toy appeal means that members of the public and AIB customers can give Barnardos a helping hand at Christmas. Barnardos believes that Ireland could - and should - be the best place to grow up in, but we know from what we see everyday in our services that this is still not the reality.
"We can only continue our work throughout the year with the support of individuals who donate to us and by the continued partnership with companies like AIB who put so much effort into supporting us," she added.
Mr Jim Kelly, head of the AIB Better Ireland Programme said: "This is the first time we have rolled out the AIB/Barnardos Toy Appeal to all our branches throughout the country - giving all our customers a chance to support Barnardos this year."