Christmas buses raise over £2,100 for Winston’s Wish
Stagecoach West spent the whole of December trying to raise as much money as possible for Winston’s Wish, most memorably by decking out their Vintage Routemaster as Santa’s Grotto and taking it on a tour around Gloucestershire.
In the lead up to Christmas, local bus operator, Stagecoach West, decked out their Vintage Routemaster as Santa’s Grotto and took it on a tour of Gloucestershire, visiting Gloucester, Stonehouse, Cheltenham, Cinderford and Swindon. Parents wanting to take their children on-board to meet Santa & his elves, and receive a little present, were asked to make a donation of £2 towards Winston’s Wish.
Over 500 presents for the bus tour were paid for and donated by the drivers of Stagecoach West, the tour itself raised over £1,400 and a further £700 was raised through Stagecoach, the local branches of Unite and the Stagecoach Personal Group. To add to the magic, Stroud-based Snow Business also donated snow and icicles.
Santa and his elves then arranged to visit the Children’s Ward at Gloucester Royal Hospital on the 23rd of December to donate all remaining presents to sick children who were set to spend their Christmas in the hospital.
Aiming to reach £2,000 in donations for Winston’s Wish, the local bus operator can announce that they in fact surpassed this and managed to raise £2,184.75, having recently presented the cheque to the team at Winston’s Wish (image attached).
Elizabeth Thatcher, Community Fundraiser from Winston’s Wish, commented:”
"I was delighted to hear how much the Stagecoach team had raised. It was great to see them out and about around the county spreading Christmas cheer and raising awareness of Winston's Wish. The money raised will be used to support children and young people bereaved of their mum, dad, brother or sister."
Rachel Geliamassi, Operations Director for Stagecoach West, commented:
“We’re ecstatic to have been able to present Winston’s Wish with a cheque of over £2,100. We wanted to raise as much money as possible for the charity, and members of the community really got behind us and dug deep. With Santa’s Grotto, I lost count of the amount of people that walked past and made a donation even though they didn’t have any children with them – they just wanted to contribute towards a great cause. Hopefully this money can really help a child in a desperate time of need.”
Explore Gloucestershire
14 January 2016
For further information.
OTHER NEWS
