Celebrating a year of community support and charitable initiatives at the heart of Milton Keynes

centre:mk has always prided itself on being at the heart of the Milton Keynes’ community and 2023 was no exception, with the centre delivering an array of world class arts projects, community-based initiatives and fundraising activations supporting the wider City and beyond.

The top 10 rated shopping centre helped generate almost £500,000 in monetary and in-kind donations through various events and activities in the past year alone.

What’s more centre:mk celebrated 275 days of hosting buskers throughout the mall – providing local artists with a unique platform to share their art forms – be it music, dance, or performance in a high-profile, high footfall environment.

The real stand out for 2023 though, was the sheer number of community events and initiatives that the centre:mk hosted, totalling 784 – including the world class art installation ‘The Place Between’ as part of International Festival, and the ever-popular free kids club which runs a different themed craft activity every month outside M&S, to name just two.

Lastly the centre admired the communities overwhelmingly generosity this Christmas by handing over around £4500 worth of donated gifts to children in refuges up and down the country as part of ‘The Giving Tree’ initiative.

Kevin Duffy, Centre Director said of the programme of initiatives:

“This year has been another bumper year of charitable activations, fundraising and projects supporting the local arts here at centre:mk. With such a vibrant, creative, and generous community around us it makes our opportunity to host so many incredible events an absolute joy.

“Our guests are always astounded by the high-quality free initiatives that they can connect with whether that be an art installation, a talented busker, or a unique charity installation.”

2024 will see the centre go further to deliver even more for the wider community with exiting plans already in motion for Pride, Black History Month, and Purple Tuesday