Rudolph’s Day Off – Santa Delivers Christmas Treats To Local Children On His All-electric Sleigh
In partnership with a local community café, Transdev helped bring some Christmas cheer to families in Harrogate last week, arranging a meet-and-greet with Santa Claus himself on board one of our all-electric buses.
From serving hot food to providing a safe space, local community café The Joyful Brew supports families in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, when they need it most.
This Christmas, Transdev decided to deliver some festive cheer of our own, and together with The Joyful Brew, organised for Santa Claus to visit children from the local community on his very own festively decorated all-electric sleigh.
On December 19, Transdev decided to go all-in for Christmas, decorating one of our Mercedes-Benz eCitaro electric buses and delivering it to Life Destiny Church’s community café – The Joyful Brew – in Starbeck, Harrogate.
There, Santa Claus himself boarded the bus, and from his all-electric Grotto, met almost 100 families from the local community – wishing them a very merry Christmas and making notes on what they wanted to find under their trees.
Luckily, every child in attendance was already on Santa’s Nice List, and so were given some goody bags that contained sweets, lollipops and chocolates; as well as copies of our ‘Bright Sparks’ activity and story book.
A few special goody bags contained a ‘Golden Ticket’, which gave up to five family members the opportunity to enjoy a festive day out on us with free all-day travel on Transdev buses.
The Joyful Brew also distributed several bags of free food from their in-house foodbank, which is open to anyone who needs it every Thursday at the Life Destiny Church in Starbeck, Harrogate.
Creative Designer and Santa’s Little Helper Ashlie Minasian said: “We decorated our new Harrogate electric bus head-to-toe in tinsel, baubles and twinkling lights, driven by our very own Mrs Claus. It looked amazing, even better once Santa got on board with his bag of treats to give away. It was a super afternoon, with the star on top being the amount of food and bathroom items we managed to donate.”
Transdev Office Manager Tracey Cloggie said: “It was a truly uplifting event to be part of. Welcoming local children and their families created such a special atmosphere. Seeing the joy on their faces as they met Father Christmas and received a gift was incredibly rewarding – I can’t wait to do it again next year!”
A volunteer from The Joyful Brew said: “The café is a vehicle to do good, and the foodbank is always here for those who need it, but it’s the people here – especially Sarah – who are the true heroes.
“There’s a chalkboard inside that says, ‘Let’s thrive together, not survive alone – there’s always room at the table for you here’, and that says everything about what we’re trying to do.”
In addition to the Christmas bus, Transdev also donated 10 full family-sized Christmas meals to the Harrogate Foodbank, which were distributed to those in need at the Life Destiny Church and The Joyful Brew on December 18.
Each hamper contained a whole Turkey Crown, Turkey Gravy, Parsnips, Carrots, Roast Potatoes, Sprouts, Pigs in Blankets, Chocolate Coins, Christmas Crackers, and Mince Pies – everything that a family would need for a classic Xmas dinner.
We also included a ‘Golden Ticket’ in each hamper, with a pair of Transdev socks added for good measure.
An enormous thank you to Sarah and all the volunteers at The Joyful Brew, as well as everyone who attended – it was an amazing event. You can find more information about The Joyful Brew’s work in the local community via their Facebook page.
