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Giving Grotto at Marlowes Shopping Centre raises thousands for local charity, DENS
Visitors to the Marlowes shopping centre Giving Grotto this Christmas really showed it was the season of goodwill, raising over £6000 for the centre’s Charity of the Year, DENS.
DENS, the homeless charity for people in Dacorum, offers the first port of call for those facing homelessness, poverty and social exclusion. The charity offers support and empowerment to people to take the next positive step in their lives.
The shopping centre has released a video to thank visitors for their generous donations, raising a total of £6,138.28. Throughout the festive season, over 2500 children enjoyed visiting Santa in the Arctic Giving Grotto.
Lavinia Douglass, Marketing Manager at The Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, said, “We’re delighted with the funds raised for our charity of the year. DENS is so important to the local community, and this has been reflected in the generous donations received. The Grotto was such a magical experience for visiting children and really helped to make this Christmas special after a tough year for everyone.
Lavinia continued: “We have been so pleased to support DENS this year, raising both funds and awareness of their brilliant work and services across Hemel Hempstead and the wider Dacorum area.”
DENS was chosen through an online vote as the centre’s Charity of The Year in early 2021. DENS has been helping to rebuild lives for over 16 years in the local Hemel community, ensuring individuals and families have access to temporary and short-term accommodation, emergency food and provisions.
Nicky Maxwell-Braithwaite, Community and Events Fundraising Manager at DENS, said: “We continue to be overwhelmed by the generosity and support of our local community. Like many charities, the pandemic has hit DENS hard financially and with live events and community activities cancelled, we have experienced a loss in income. It’s vital that we recoup these funds to keep our services open and allow us to continue supporting local vulnerable people during these challenging times. Our partnership with The Marlowes has been key to raising awareness about our much-needed services and ways to support DENS.”
For more information about DENS, please visit http://www.dens.org.uk/