Swansway and TrustFord bring festive cheer with charity donations

Swansway and TrustFord have made efforts to ease the cost-of-living burden and spread some Christmas cheer with large scale festive charity donations.

Crewe-based AM100 car retailer Swansway has donated £12,000 of Christmas gifts to charities across the UK as its Santa Patrol campaign returns for 2022, while TrustFord boosted foodbanks across the UK via the ‘Fill Your Boots’ initiative.

Swansway's campaign has seen the group donate gifts ranging from toys to selection boxes and winter essentials such as hats and gloves to charities in Birmingham, Blackburn, Bolton, Carlisle, Chester, Liverpool, Oldham, Preston, Stafford, Stockport, Stoke and Wrexham.

Donations have been made to Homestart, The Wish Centre, BACKUP North West, Bolton Lions, Endeavour Project, Fortalice, St Peter and St Paul’s RC Primary School, Cumbria Family Support, Kidsbank Chester, The Wingate Centre and The Wishing Well, Nugent, Reach out the Community, The Foxton Centre, Staffordshire Women’s Aid, The Gingerbread Centre, Family Friends and Homestart-HOST.

David Smyth, Swansway group director, said: “It has been a difficult year for many people, and we hope that our Santa Patrol donations bring a smile to the faces of those who are most in need.

“It’s important to us all at Swansway that we support our charity partners all year round, but to be able to round up 2022 by putting a gift under the tree for those who would usually go without is just as important, it’s a gift from our Swansway family to the families in need.”

TrustFord, which was highly commended in the 2022 AM Awards Community Hero Award category, was able to contibute to food banks throughout the UK after sites became donation hubs throughout November.

As part of its ‘Fill Your Boots’ campaign, the OEM-owned dealer group invited colleagues and customers to donate non-perishable items to help and support people in need, along with those who have been heavily impacted by the cost-of-living crisis.

Among the food banks that received help was Newtownabbey Foodbank in Northern Ireland, which has seen an increase in people needing crisis food.

Stuart Mustoe, acting chairman a chief executive and finance director at TrustFord, said: “At TrustFord we’re always looking for ways to give back to our local communities and we know that Christmas can be a particularly challenging time for many, and this year is going to be even tougher for a lot of households.

“We couldn’t have imagined the incredible response to our outreach and the generosity of both our customers and colleagues has been heart-warming.

"We hope the donations will make a difference to local households and provide a helping hand to the fantastic organisations that provide this service.”

Mitchell Group channelled the festive spirit to pack the halls of Chester Cathedral for its annual Christmas carol singing spectacular last week.