12 Essex charities share £14,000 raised by Santa Flights

TTwelve local charities have all received much needed cash boosts after caring staff from London Southend Airport and easyJet helped to raise £14,000 with their 2018 Santa Flights 

Father Christmas swapped his sleigh and reindeer for an easyJet plane on 1 December 2018 to raise funds for Essex good causes and deliver an enchanting experience in the skies for local children. The two very special Santa Flights delivered a unique and magical adventure over the county for 160 children along with their friends and family members.

The money raised has now been shared out amongst twelve Essex based good causes, who all applied for grants from the London Southend Airport Charity Fund. 

• Brighter Opportunities through Supported Play– BOSP(Billericay) – For a ‘Making Autistic Sense’ project to help children process day-to-day sensory information
• South Essex Community Hub (Southend) – To buy a laptop for a multilingual project for people where English is a second language.   
• SNAP (Brentwood) – To support a helpline that can be the first port of call for families seeking support on a variety of topics.
• Age Concern Southend– Funding towards setting up a new base offering support to the elderly community
• Little Heroes ASD Support Group(Westcliff) – To fund music learning sessions for children with autism
• Anxiety Society Mental Health Support Group(Southend) – A project to help members face daily tasks that are often triggers for anxiety, whilst gaining support and learning coping mechanisms
• Southend Hospital Charity– Buying a Trauma Transfer Board for the Accident & Emergency Department.
• Southend Carers SAVS– To help establish a Carers Confidential Telephone Emotional support service
• Peaceful Place (Rochford) – For yoga classes for people with early onset dementia
• Change a Paw Life(Hockley) – To helprehabilitate rescued dogs that have been severely abused
• Gold Geese (Leigh-on-Sea) – Towards supporting children receiving treatment for cancer
• SUCET (Southend United Community & Education Trust) – To provide equipment for a programme that targets childhood obesity.

Representatives of the charities all came together this week for a celebration at the Holiday Inn, London Southend Airport where they all received their cheques.

Glyn Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Stobart Aviation that owns London Southend Airport added: “These charities are all great examples of projects being run in the communities served by London Southend Airport and I am proud that we can play our part in helping them to continue their admirable work. The festive Santa Flightsare a truly magical day out for the children and their families, and I’d like to thank all the staff from the airport and easyJet who donated their time and worked tirelessly to make them happen. “