Christmas Collections 2020

A huge BIG THANK YOU to everyone who gave so generously in our 'House-to-House' Santa Sleigh Collection in Ingatestone, Mountnessing and Margaretting.

Total collected for distribution to local charities & good causes is a staggering £4,392.

Monies have been distributed to the following beneficiaries: 

Red Cross - £300;
Ing & Fry CoE Aided School- for laptops for remote learning £900;
Local Scouts ,Cubs and Brownies - £700;
Scrubs for Bloomfield [material costs]  £300;
Crisis at Christmas - £564;
Dictionaries 4 Life - £252;
Ingatestone and Fryerning Nurses Trust - £200 
Forget Me Not  Activity Club - £200
Age UK (local) - £200 
MacMillan Cancer Support - £200 
Prostate Cancer  - £200 
St Francis Hospice - £200 
Charles Cox Trust  - £200 

Club members were pleased we had decided to take action and run this popular annual event despite the Covid pandemic. We obtained a collection licence from Brentwood Borough Council  by preparing a Risk Assessment. This included us keeping to social distancing, wearing masks or face shields, placing the bucket on the doorstep & retreating 2 metres, fitting acrylic safety panels for Santa on the sleigh.

In addition to collecting cash, we had other ways to donate this year. Donations could be made by people using their mobile by scanning a QR Code or Texting a Donation or by going Online to donate via BACS or PayPal. Some people did use these alternative methods.  

Also new this year, people could check when the sleigh was coming and its actual location, using Sleigh Tracker , A combination of the facebook campaign posts placed by Helder and these new options certainly helped us achieve the amazing total which was kindly donated this year.

From the reaction to us visiting the streets, it was the right decision – everyone was pleased to se us and gave so generously. It was ‘the beginning of Christmas for many – indeed sadly one of the few events that took place. Thanks go to Santa for coming and all the members who made the collections such a success.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy & Safe 2021.