Following on from the success of the summer event we delivered in August and after speaking to residents at a recent RMBC skip day, we thought it would be nice to hold the first ever Christmas Grotto on the estate for the residents to enjoy.
RMBC Councillors very kindly agreed to help fund this event and using some of our budget, we put the rest towards the grotto and purchased selection boxes, so every child visiting Santa would receive one free.
Prior to the event we produced and delivered over 300 leaflets around the estate. We also met with the new TARA on the estate who said they would like to be involved and have a stall at the event to raise funds for their new group, the group now have a constitution, they are just awaiting their bank account being opened. The event took place on Tuesday 10 December from 4pm until 6pm and whilst it was extremely cold, the weather thankfully stayed dry. DB Entertainment brought the inflatable grotto, and the TARA organised for Santa to attend the event. Know Your Neighbour came along and promoted their services, and they took the opportunity to speak to the local residents about the area. The TARA held a tombola and a refreshments stall.
It was a great event with a good turnout. We had approximately 150 people attend the event, 95% of residents attending were council tenants. The TARA were really happy with the interest in their stalls and managed to raise over £300 which will go towards future activities for the residents. The TARA have lots of ideas for the estate moving forward, which is fantastic. We will support them with these and also help them to look at and apply for funding.
Feedback from the residents about the event was really positive.
“Thank you so much for organising and funding this, it has been a lovey treat for the children to enjoy”.
“This is just what the estate needs, more activities for residents to get involved in”.
