The Bauble Appeal was one of the charity drives to benefit from festivities at The Mercury Shopping Centre (Pics-The Mercury Shopping Centre)
Santa’s Grotto raised £2,000 for Saint Francis Hospice, thanks to the hard work of Santa’s helper Ian Courtier.
It’s Romford’s longest running grotto, Ian 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 Mercury also hosted a Christmas wrapping week, which raised several hundred pounds for a number of local charities.
The wrapping station raised hundreds of pounds
They include; Havering Volunteer Centre, Wanderers Haven Animal Sanctuary, Baby Bank HQ and Saint Francis Hospice.
It also hosted this years King George & Queen’s Hospital Charity’s Big Bauble Appeal.
This is a drive to try and buy presents for those who faced the prospect of spending Christmas in hospital.
The appeal raised over £3,000 in the final two months of the year.
Customers of the Mercury also donated over 100 gifts to help support The Mercury Giving Tree; which was a collection for families being supported by the Havering Women’s Aid.
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.”
The Mercury Shopping Centre Manager, Spencer Hawken, was full of praise for the customers, “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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