Santa’s visits to areas in Carlisle have raised over £5,000 for charities.
Organised by the Rotary clubs of Carlisle Castle, Carlisle and Brampton & Longtown, Santa visited 11 communities in the run-up to Christmas.
Local fundraisers hired the sleigh for a further three nights, this included staff from David Allen raising money for the Great North Air Ambulance.
The takings from all 14 nights make up the final total of £5,026.
The sleigh is owned by the Rotary Club of Carlisle Castle which hires it out to other Rotary clubs and community groups.
President of Carlisle Castle Rotary Club, Paul Faris, said: “We know the cost of going to a grotto to see Santa will be beyond many families and the smiles on the children’s faces when they see the sleigh are fantastic to see.
“The money we raise on the sleigh runs is also important and allows Rotary in Carlisle to support a wide range of charities who are doing great work in the city and around the world.
“We’d like to thank everyone who was kind enough to donate this year. We haven’t allocated all of the money collected by our club yet but charities we have supported in the past include Calvert Lakes and Shelterbox which supports people affected by war and natural disaster.
“We’d also like to thank Kingmoor Park for allowing us to store the sleigh with them when it’s not in use. We love working alongside our fellow Rotary clubs and other community organisations – and not just at Christmas time. For example we have planted crocuses this past year in some of the communities visited by the sleigh – choosing sites suggested by the local community.”
Stuart Atkinson, president of the Rotary Club of Brampton and Longtown, said: “Despite having to battle delays at RATC (Reindeer Air Traffic Control) due to strong winds across the UK, which meant Santa’s arrival was delayed in Brampton by 24 hours, we had another great year and would like to thank all those that generously gave and to those who gave their time to assist Santa in his tour.
“Our club supports six local primary schools that run Rotakids groups, and our local secondary school. £1,000 of the sleigh collection is earmarked towards the cost of a new Sensory Room. The remainder is being used to fund various activities at the six junior schools.“
Andrew Meggs, president of the Rotary Club of Carlisle added: “We thoroughly enjoyed our nights with the Sleigh again this year.
“We haven’t made the final decision on what to do with the money we collected but to give you an idea, in the last few months our club has made donations to Cumbria Community Foundation’s Winter Warmth Appeal and the Carlisle Foodbank. In addition to that we are paying for the Carlisle rounds of Rotary’s Young Chef and Young Technologist competitions.”
Planning for this year’s sleigh runs has already begun. Details will be posted as usual in early December on the Rotary Carlisle Santa Sleigh Facebook page.
All three Rotary clubs are always pleased to welcome new members – men and women of all different ages and backgrounds who want to make a difference in their own community but also support projects improving lives around the world – search for them online or on Facebook.
