Glades shopping centre appeals for help for cancer charity Giving Tree Campaign

The Glades shopping centre in Bromley is making an appeal to the community for help with collecting gifts, which will be donated to a children’s cancer charity as part of its Giving Tree campaign.

Visitors to The Glades are being asked to visit the special tree, which can be found on the upper mall by guest services, where they will be able to select a tag and purchase a recommended gift for a child.

The unwrapped, donated item can then to be taken to the guest services desk, along with the tag, up until Christmas Eve.

All offerings will then be presented to The Chartwell Children’s Cancer Trust (CCCT), which provides essential care for babies, children and their families, who are experiencing challenging health
complications.

The CCCT supports three local children’s oncology wards – Tiger ward at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, The CCT Frog at Croydon University Hospital, and Toni & Guy ward at King’s College Hospital.

Mark Haynes, director of The Glades, is confident that the public will show its great compassion and generosity for the cause.

He said: “It’s the season of goodwill, and what better occasion for us to come together and show our gratitude to the CCCT for all it does to provide additional happiness to the lives of poorly children?

“Christmas, for many of us, is a time of joy and celebration, and the Giving Tree campaign is a way of extending some festive cheer to the bravest little ones from the borough and beyond.

“We look forward to bringing smiles to many little faces throughout the town and surrounding areas.”

Michelle Simpson, sale and marketing consultant/co-ordinator for childhood cancer support groups, said: “We are very grateful for the continued support of The Glades and its community, which is always very generous and makes a huge difference to our families that are going through a very tough time in their lives.”

The Santa Express arrived at The Glades last weekend for a ride into the festive season. The Santa Express train is stationed at The Glades, with daily departures from 11am until Christmas Eve.

Ticket holders will be guided by enchanting engineers on a fun-packed jaunt exploring the carriages, all the way through to the engine room where the driver, aka Father Christmas, will be waiting for a chat and a (s)elfie.

Passengers will leave with the greatest memories and a cuddly toy.

Tickets are priced at £8 per person and are available now from the station office at www.theglades.co.uk.

There will be a quieter, autism-friendly service running on Sunday from 11am until noon.