News — And the Christmas Tree Festival winner is…
The Christmas holidays have come and gone, but the echoes of festive cheer and community spirit still resonate here at The Friary Guildford. Throughout December, we hosted two heart-warming community initiatives – The Christmas Tree Festival and The Giving Tree, both raising smiles and crucial support for eleven local charities.
The Christmas Tree Festival, which was launched at the end of November, showcased ten beautifully decorated trees, each a unique creation by a local charity. Shoppers and locals were encouraged to vote for their favourite best dressed tree right up ‘til New Year’s Eve. We have now counted and verified all the votes and are delighted to announce the winner of our first ever Christmas Tree Festival is the Royal Surrey Charity who will be awarded a £1,000 donation by The Friary Guildford.
As the dedicated charity for Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, the Royal Surrey Charity funds extraordinary care at the Royal Surrey and Saint Luke’s Cancer Centre in Guildford, and its community hospitals at Cranleigh, Milford and Haslemere.
The Friary’s Community Christmas events also included The Giving Tree which was launched in aid of Shooting Star Children’s Hospices, allowing shoppers to be able to select a tag and donate a gift to The Giving Tree. From the generosity of the local community a total of 250 gifts were donated worth more than £6,200 and delivered in time for Christmas.
Shooting Star Children’s Hospices cares for babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions, and their families, across Surrey and supports families from diagnosis to end of life and throughout bereavement with a range of nursing, practical, emotional, and medical care.
We’re proud to support the following local charities:
Art-Venture, Guildford Action, Guildford Cathedral, Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance, North Guildford Food Bank, Royal Surrey Charity, Surrey Wildlife Trust, The Fountain Centre, The Salvation Army Guildford, Zero Carbon Guildford and Shooting Star Children’s Hospices.
We would like to thank all our shoppers and local community for taking the time to vote, donate and support our community events making this Christmas season truly special for Guildford.
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