A fundraising drive to buy Christmas presents for kids affected by the Grenfell Tower fire has been launched by the nephew of one of the 71 victims.

The nephew has set up the Christmas for Grenfell crowdfunding page with the aim of raising £25,000.

He says every penny of the money raised will be spent on toys to give to children from around Grenfell.

His uncle Denis Murphy was among those who died in Grenfell Tower on June 14. The 56-year-old lived on the 14th floor of the building, and it took three months for his body to be formally identified.

Writing on the gofundme page, the nephew said children were at the heart of a traumatised community.

Following the fire, the nephew spent days putting up missing posters and waiting in hope that his uncle had survived.

Over the weeks and months that followed, the dad-of-two bonded with other relatives and survivors, eventually handing out bags of toys to affected youngsters who had been left with nothing after fleeing for their lives.

As Christmas approaches, the nephew is now fundraising in the hope of handing out a toy to as many children from around Grenfell as possible.

Denis Murphy

He said: “That fire didn’t just consume a tower block, leaving 71 dead and many more injured, it traumatised an entire community - and at the heart of that community are children.

“We don’t just mean those who lived in the tower. We are talking about children affected by a tragedy on their doorstep. Children who saw and heard things no child should ever witness.

“Children who live with the aftermath of that tragedy every single day – because they live in the shadow of Grenfell Tower.

“It looms over their world – a constant reminder of the familiar faces that are gone forever, the empty desks in their classrooms, the children missing from football or dance class, from the park or from playgroup.

"They’ve been through so much that we just want to put a smile on some faces.

The Christmas for Grenfell crowdfunding page

“Inspired by my uncle’s kindness, I took to volunteering as a way of handling my grief. He loved his community and if he had made it out of the tower, this is the type of thing he would do.”

The nephew, is working with local mothers’ group ‘We Can Cry’ as they look to hold a present giving day in late December.

He added: “Thankfully for my family, my uncle was identified in September and we laid him to rest in October.

“Although we have some form of closure to move on, the pain and sorrow my family feels will live on for many, many years as it will for others.”

The Christmas for Grenfell crowdfunding page was set up on Sunday (November 26) and at 10am on Wednesday (November 29) already raised £4,870, with donations coming from 208 people.

To donate visit the Christmas for Grenfell crowdfunding page.

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