The Mall Blackburn is kicking off its search for an official charity to support in 2022
It comes after they donated £3,601.97 to Secret Santa in 2021, which distributed more than 1000 sacks of Christmas presents to the most disadvantaged children in Blackburn with Darwen during the recent festive season.
The money collected by The Mall equated to 150 bags of gifts, meaning children who would have otherwise not had anything to open had the chance to enjoy Christmas Day. It also contributed to other appeals and projects throughout the year.
So far in 2022 a further £170 has been raised and it will be used to buy chocolate eggs for the Secret Santa Easter appeal, which will also be collecting donations of eggs at The Mall’s Ask Me Point.
Applications are now open for charities to apply to become The Mall’s Charity of the Year 2022 as part of its Mall Cares programme. The closing date is Friday 4th March 2022 and the new partnership will commence on Friday 1st April 2022.
Phil Boulding, who founded Secret Santa with his wife Karen, said: “It was an absolute honour to be named as The Mall’s charity of the year last year and the money raised was a real boost to our appeals throughout 2021.
“During what was our worst year ever, as the Secret Santa shop was closed for many months, The Mall really shone through as a beacon of support for us.
“Their amazing donations helped us to provide 1,000 sacks of seven presents for disabled children, hospitalised children and our most disadvantaged families across the borough.
“We also donated £1,000 to support the building of a brand-new Round table Santa’s sleigh.
“In addition, we’ve given away 200 laptops and computers to families to help with online schooling and homework and the Mall’s donations helped us purchase hard drives, keyboards, and mice.
“The funds also allowed us to support Ivy St Community Centre to provide a Christmas day meal and party for people living on their own and we also funded a coach day out to Blackpool for disadvantaged children.
“We supported Appletrees Disabled Respite Centre with a cheque for £1,000 to help provide equipment and provided 150 selection boxes for the foster carers Christmas party at Ewood Park – so it was certainly a busy 12 months.
“The team at The Mall are wonderful people and I would urge charities that are looking for support to apply to be part of this fantastic programme.”
Loraine Jones, General Manager at The Mall Blackburn, said: “We have loved working with Phil, Karen and their army of inspirational volunteers during 2021 and will continue to provide the unit so they are able to carry on with their invaluable work.
“There are so many deserving charities across Lancashire and we are looking for new and exciting ideas for fundraising activities during 2022.
“Being able to make a difference to important causes is my favourite part of my job and this is a great opportunity for any voluntary organisation to raise awareness and much needed funds whilst having fun along the way.”
The closing date is Friday 4th March 2022.
Charities that would like to be considered should complete the online application that can be found on The Mall’s website at https://www.themall.co.uk/blackburn/whats-hot/2022/the-mall-launches-search-for-charity-of-the-year/ to outline how they would make the most of the partnership and what ideas they have to raise funds and awareness within the shopping centre.
The closing date is Friday 4th March 2022.
