SHOPPERS are being asked to slip a little extra something into their trolleys for disadvantaged kids this Christmas.

While people pick up Christmas goodies at Asda in Wheatley, they are being asked to buy a toy or gift for a child to be distributed to families in Oxford and Bicester.

The appeal, organised by Have a Heart, is the first major campaign by the charity since it changed its name from Help an Oxfordshire Child when Fox FM became Heart FM.

Toys and gifts will be handed out to the families that need them most by Home-Start Oxford.

Heart FM presenter Toby Anstis said: “We owe a big thank you to Asda for supporting Have a Heart through the Asda toy appeal.

“This is a fantastic initiative and is exactly what Have a Heart is all about, giving back to the communities.”

Home-Start Oxford manager Chris Courtney said the charity had supported more than 300 children in Oxford and Bicester last year. He said: “A lot of children in the families we support are from the poorer end of the scale and any presents will be gratefully received.

“To anyone picking up their shopping, I would say they are probably going to spend the money anyway, so a couple of quid extra for a family that really will be grateful and in need of it, would be really helpful.”

People are asked to pick up an extra gift for children aged up to 18 and drop it into a specially decorated trolley in store to be collected and distributed via Home-Start.

They must be new, but need not cost more than £5.

They can be bought at any shop and dropped off at Asda.

Have a Heart regional fundraising manager John Stratton said while people were often generous with items for children aged between five and seven, he urged shoppers to think about buying something for older or younger children, such as CDs or DVDs.

He said: “At times like this, statistics show that people do feel very charitable when things are rough because it brings home the fact that there are people less fortunate than yourself in the recession.

“This is going to a great group and a great charity and we hope people will give generously.”

He said Have a Heart would continue to support the same kinds of groups that its predecessor gave grants to.

Last year it handed out just under £55,000 to groups including child bereavement service SeeSaw, Oxford, the Young Carers Project, Didcot Voluntary Parent Committee, the Child Brain Injury Trust and Ronald McDonald House, which provides parents of sick children at the John Radcliffe Hospital somewhere to stay.