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Mayor Invites Residents to Fundraising Christmas Event

Mayor's Press Releases

Christmas lights 

The Mayor of Hailsham is calling on people to come and ‘kick start’ their festive celebrations by attending a charity fundraising event full of fun, entertainment and drinks, that will help raise money for a local worthy cause.

Taking place at the Hailsham Memorial Institute (HMI) Club in Western Road on Friday 23rd December from 7pm, there will be live entertainment and a raffle with plenty of prizes up for grabs.

All proceeds from the event will go to Pass It On (In Your Community) CIC, a local community food scheme which aims to bring people together to stop food waste, by granting permission to volunteers to use its Council premises for storage and collection of surplus food by residents.

“I’m very pleased to be able to celebrate the festive period and spread goodwill through this very special fundraising event,” said Town Mayor Councillor Holbrook. “With the cost-of-living crisis and hiking food prices of late, this time may well be increasingly difficult for many and in the face of the challenges of the past couple of years, it is an honour to be able to hold this event, share our Christmas celebrations with local people and raise funds for such a vital cause in the process.”

“I’m hoping to raise as much money as possible for the Pass It On charity, which really does make a hugely positive difference to the people it supports. The volunteers who run the charity are true pillars of our community and I’m determined to do everything I can to raise their project’s profile and hopefully generate funds to help them continue their vital work well into the future.”

Hailsham Town Council offered its support to Pass It On (In Your Community) earlier this year by accepting a request from project organisers to operate from the James West Community Centre on Saturday and Sunday mornings, a valuable community service whereby surplus and waste food is collected from local supermarkets and other outlets and put into the ‘Community Fridge’. The facility is available to everyone in the community, without the need for means testing or the filling in of forms.

Town councillor Mary Laxton, co-organiser of the event, commented: “The Community Fridge idea continues to gain momentum all over the country and is a platform for sharing surplus food within a community to reduce food waste going to landfill. They are not means tested, are open to all and differ from the vital role food banks play – but offer a complementary provision.”

“It’s great to see that many local supermarkets and retailers are only too pleased to see surplus food items – such as bread, meat, fruit and vegetables – go onto people’s dinner plates as opposed to being consigned to the bin.”

“The Town Council is delighted to work alongside the newly established Community Fridge operated by the Pass It On organisation by offering space to operate from – and for holding this special festive fundraising event. Hailsham has a great community spirit and people here certainly look out for each other and by working together and raising vital funds at the Christmas event, we can all do our bit towards reducing the amount of food going to waste and helping those who need support the most.”

If you wish to attend the event, please contact David Saxby at Hailsham Town Council (david.saxby@hailsham-tc.gov.uk) by no later than Friday 16th December, indicating how many people will be coming with you.


Enquiries relating to this media release

Terry Hall, Communications Officer
Hailsham Town Council, Market Street, Hailsham, East Sussex, BN27 2AE
Telephone: 01323 841702 | Email: terry.hall@hailsham-tc.gov.uk