The Mercury helps raise over £5000 for local charities
Santa may have returned to the North Pole, but it’s been a
busy couple of weeks for his team of elves at The Mercury shopping centre.
Santa’s Grotto raised £2000 for local charity Saint Francis Hospice, led by
Santa’s helper Ian Courtier. The grotto is Romford’s longest running grotto. He
said: “Over 20 years building the grotto into the popular success it has become
it is now one of the main go to events at Christmas in Romford and we hope this
continues for years to come. Even during these challenging times our loyal
customers have continued to show their support.”
The Christmas charity wrapping week raised several hundreds
of pounds for local charities including Havering Volunteer Centre, Wanderers
Haven Animal Sanctuary, Baby Bank HQ and Saint Francis Hospice with local
shoppers digging deep into their pockets in exchange for their festive
purchases to be lovingly gift wrapped.
King George & Queen’s Hospital Charity hosted their Big
Bauble Appeal at the shopping centre which helped deliver over 1,000 presents
for patients and bring a little sparkle to hospital wards whilst raising over £3000
between November – December.
Over 100 gifts were donated from customers to support The Mercury
Giving Tree appeal and the management suite was the drop- off point for
Havering Women’s Aid. They run premises in Havering and supply specialist
assistance to male and female victims of domestic abuse. Kerry from Havering
Women’s Aid says: “The children were so excited to receive their Christmas
parcels and the women were completely overwhelmed by the generosity. It is only
with the support of people like yourself that we can make this happen. It is
such a wonderful gift to see the joy and pleasure the children get from their
presents and this really shows the families that there are kind people out
there supporting them through this incredibly difficult time.”
Centre Manager Spencer Hawken said: “It’s an amazing
testament to the people of Romford’s generosity, that even in this extended
period of unease like the current pandemic, people are still willing to pass
money to others less fortunate.”
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