Visits to Santa at Sherway Gardens over the holidays helped raise more than $40,000 for a charity that works to help children around the world.
Officials from Sherway Gardens were ecstatic after its award-winning Santa Experience, which comes to the shopping centre at Christmas, raised $40,726 that was donated recently to Sleeping Children Around the World. It's an organization that provides bedkits for needy children in developing countries.
"It's great to think that a happy time such as Christmas, where our children our celebrating and having their pictures taken with Santa, can lead to many kids overseas getting bedkits," said Sleeping Children chairman Dave Dryden. "As a result of Sherway Gardens' support, Sleeping Children Around The World has been able to provide approximately 6,000 bedkits to children in countries around the world including India, Kenya, the Philippines, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Honduras and Bangladesh."
The Santa Experience is an interactive play session that includes sing-alongs, dancing and stories and a chance for children to speak with Santa Claus and pose for a picture.
"Since 2002, Sherway Gardens has proudly donated 100 per cent of the proceeds from the Santa Experience to Sleeping Children Around the World," said general manager Andy Traynor. "To date, $245,551.88 has been raised through ticket sales for the Santa Experience which has gone toward helping over 5,000 children worldwide."
For more on Sleeping Children Around the World, visit scaw.org.
Chris Clay
