LAST weekend, Lakeside Shopping Centre celebrated ‘One Great Day’, an annual fundraising event that takes place in shopping centres across the UK.
Between 11am and 4pm, the centre’s visitors generously donated more than £1000. The money will support Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and the centre’s former charity partner, Little Havens Hospice, in an equal split.
To raise the money, 21 retailers including M&S, Lakeland and Virgin Holidays displayed collection pots inside their stores – while others donated the following raffle prizes:
Triple Two: 2 x reusable cups and a 1kg bag of coffee
Electric Gamebox: an hour-long game session
Social Shakes: sweet hamper
Therapie: an Environ facial worth £120
Jo Malone: some deluxe samples
Vue Cinema: 2 x free complimentary tickets
Aqua Parks: 2 x gift cards worth £80 each
Little Havens attended the event to help with fundraising, which was fronted by characters including the Ghost Busters, Men in Black, Chewbacca, the Joker and the Little Havens Hospice mascot, Betsy the Butterfly.
The event took place in conjunction with the centre’s Emergency Services Day, held out in the Quay. A number of emergency services and local groups were in attendance to offer unique experiences and deliver talks to visitors, including Thurrock District Scouts with their 30ft climbing wall, Essex Fire and Rescue Service with their fire engine, Essex Police, St John’s Ambulance, Sea Cadets, Environment Agency, Kent and Essex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority.
Following the huge fundraising event, Howard Oldstein, Centre Director commented: “Hosting fundraising events is such an important part of what we do at Lakeside to give back to the local community. To be able to come together for One Great Day and Emergency Services Day this September was fantastic, and a thoroughly enjoyable day for all.”
He adds: “From myself and the team here at Lakeside, we’d like to extend our thanks to the general public for their kind donations, to our retailers for their involvement in the event and to Little Havens Hospice, the emergency services and local community groups for their attendance on Sunday 5 September.”
Learn more about Lakeside’s retailers, news, offers and events at www.lakeside-shopping.com.
