The Rotary Club of Grays Thurrock set an all-time collecting record at Christmas and due to the generosity of Thurrock residents we collected over £13,300. The Club organised 10 nights of sleigh runs around the Grays area and nine days of collections outside, Asda at Tilbury, Morrisons at Corringham and Tesco at Lakeside. The new sleigh tracker helped residents and eager children to follow the sleigh online and meet us on route. Our new card machines and some good weather all contributed to this year’s record collection.
The monies will be distributed between four chosen charities: Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital; Barnardo’s; Little Havens Children’s Hospice; and Treetops, special needs school. There will be a cheque presentation lunch for the charities and our helpers in February.
Just about all Club members and many of their family members came out to support the collections, with 5 Santa’s, 3 drivers, 4 banksmen, a Sleigh Captain, a Supermarket Coordinator and a partridge in a pear tree. The Club thanks the three supermarkets for their support, Smiths Orchard Garden Centre who counted and banked the cash, the teachers from Treetops School who collected with us one night and to Mark Chambers from District who did the same – thanks Mark. However star of the show was our President Paul Smith, who was out every night as our Sleigh Captain and on some nights even drove sleigh and was Father Christmas on a night – you can’t keep a good Rotarian down.