Post by Admin on Nov 14, 2006 1:53:42 GMT
Father Christmas WILL be visiting Atherstone this year and residents can look forward to a merry time following an announcement that the axed Santa Sleigh Collection has been saved.
The ambitious plans have been revealed by a newly formed collection committee, which is resurrecting the event 'following a wave of pressure from the public'.
"When we were winding it down last year there was a lot of people saying how disappointed they were that we were going to lose the collection," committee member Tony Campion told the Herald.
The future of the original collection was thrown into uncertainty after the Atherstone Round Table disbanded.
Now the Atherstone Sleigh Collection Committee, created to organise the annual collection in association with the Atherstone Forum, are putting the magic back into Christmas.
"The sleigh is currently being refurbished having been in storage for the past 10 months," explained Mr Campion.
"Without the support of both DeMulder and Sons and Polesworth Garage Ltd we could not even consider running the sleigh this year," he added.
The committee will provide the sleigh and driver and coordinate the collection route.
Different local charities, community groups and support groups will be invited to carry out a collection for each of the 14 nights.
All the money collected over the period will then be divided equally amongst those groups.
Interested organisations must be based in the collection areas - which along with Atherstone include Hartshill, Kingsbury, Grendon, Baddesley, Sheepy, Warton, Austrey and Witherley - and provide at least six responsible adults for the collection.
For more information or for your organisation to be considered call Tony Campion on 01827 716916.
nicola.robinson@cintamworth.co.uk
The ambitious plans have been revealed by a newly formed collection committee, which is resurrecting the event 'following a wave of pressure from the public'.
"When we were winding it down last year there was a lot of people saying how disappointed they were that we were going to lose the collection," committee member Tony Campion told the Herald.
The future of the original collection was thrown into uncertainty after the Atherstone Round Table disbanded.
Now the Atherstone Sleigh Collection Committee, created to organise the annual collection in association with the Atherstone Forum, are putting the magic back into Christmas.
"The sleigh is currently being refurbished having been in storage for the past 10 months," explained Mr Campion.
"Without the support of both DeMulder and Sons and Polesworth Garage Ltd we could not even consider running the sleigh this year," he added.
The committee will provide the sleigh and driver and coordinate the collection route.
Different local charities, community groups and support groups will be invited to carry out a collection for each of the 14 nights.
All the money collected over the period will then be divided equally amongst those groups.
Interested organisations must be based in the collection areas - which along with Atherstone include Hartshill, Kingsbury, Grendon, Baddesley, Sheepy, Warton, Austrey and Witherley - and provide at least six responsible adults for the collection.
For more information or for your organisation to be considered call Tony Campion on 01827 716916.
nicola.robinson@cintamworth.co.uk
