centre:mk focusses on ‘Giving Back’ this Festive Season
Posted 1st November 2023centre:mk will be merrily marching into the festive season on Friday 17th November, with a completely free to attend Santa parade to which everybody’s invited!
The shopping and leisure destination will also be upping the feel-good factor this Christmas, as it spotlights some incredible local charities through their ‘Giving Tree’, VICTA decorations display and Harry’s Rainbow fundraising. The Parade, which will start inside Door 1 (M&S) at 5.30pm will welcome Santa and friends from the Cinderella Pantomime as they sledge down Silbury Arcade finishing at this year’s The Snowman™, themed Grotto in the spectacularly decorated, Middleton Hall.
The charity initiatives that the centre has chosen to feature this year are all focused towards helping local children and young people. The centre’s ‘Giving Tree’, which will be positioned in Guest Services, is the perfect opportunity for anyone looking to gift someone truly in need this year.
The tree, which is decorated with tags of gift suggestions, allows customers to buy a gift for a child, many of which have escaped domestic violence, being forced to flee their homes quickly and leave all possessions behind. Without Giving Tree, these children may not otherwise receive a gift at Christmas.
Supported by the Charity ‘Kids Out’ who are based in Leighton Buzzard, the gifts (which should be kindly left unwrapped) will be collated via the centre’s Guest Services team ready for collection by the charity, who will then redistribute these to parents in time to be wrapped, ready for Christmas.
In another separative charity initiative, centre:mk will be showcasing some of the incredible handmade decorations created by the children and young people using the services at VICTA – a charity supporting blind and partially sighted children. These wonderful decorations will be displayed amongst the glistening lights in Middleton Hall to be enjoyed by all the guests that visit the Hall, which will also be home to a variety of cabins selling locally crafted items, festive food vendors, a magical carousel, train rides, as well as this year’s nostalgic The Snowman™, themed Grotto.
Lastly fundraising for local charity, Harry’s Rainbow, who are an invaluable lifeline for children experiencing the loss of a sibling or parent will be boosted this year through the sale of centre:mk’s ‘Reindeer Glasses’, which are just £2 and magically turn any point of light into a sparkling reindeer image. Harry’s Rainbow will also be visiting the Grotto to meet Santa with families this year, to bring a little joy during a very hard time of year for those that are grieving a loved one.
Centre Director Kevin Duffy said, “Santa’s arrival at centre:mk, is a wonderful experience and marks the start of the magical festive season. We are incredibly proud this year to be able to couple the feel-good season with very important charity work that benefits so many children in the local community. We hope that this event will create many magical memories for everyone who attends.”
The centre:mk Santa Parade is free to attend, whilst tickets are available to purchase to meet Santa in this years The Snowman™ Grotto experience online at centremk.com, tickets can also be purchased online for the train ride, and Virtual Reality Sleigh experience.