Vehicle dealership initiative cheers deserving families.
Roshni refuge in Birmingham received a welcome visit from Santa, bringing gifts for the children who will spend Christmas under their protective roof.
Volkswagen Van Centre Birmingham, had asked for nominations for local children’s groups and charities to receive Christmas presents from their Swansway Santa Patrol; the St Stephen’s Street dealership had already played Santa to Help Harry to Help Others and Caldmore Village Primary School, before visiting Roshni.
A Children’s Development Worker at Roshni explained, “We provide support and accommodation for Asian women and children who have suffered from domestic violence, honour based crimes and forced marriages. Roshni means light and that’s what we try to do, bring light into the lives of those families we support.”
“When we saw the article in the newspaper asking for nominations to receive presents from Swansway Santa Patrol, we emailed explaining why our children deserved a visit from Santa. We’ve been overwhelmed with the lovely gifts the Swansway Santa brought and really want to say a massive thank you for supporting us in this way”.
Delighted Santa, Gary Burke, a driver for the Van Centre explained, “Playing Santa to kids who would otherwise go without presents has been a truly wonderful experience, it’s what the true spirit of Christmas is all about and I hope all the children enjoy their presents, as much as I’ve enjoyed delivering them”.
Volkswagen Van Centre Birmingham is operated by Swansway Group, a family owned and run business. This is the second year of their Santa Patrol and the group purchased £12,500 of toys sharing them out across their dealerships across the North West and Midlands.
