Stoke and Devonport Christmas Tree Festival

Aim: To raise money for a local charity, advertising or local businesses and organisations whilst bring the community together.

Stoke and Devonport Christmas Tree Festival was born in 2021 and is the brain child of Nikki and Claire, two people who live and work in the communities of Stoke and Devonport. 

Following the end of pandemic restrictions we noticed that small businesses and organisations in the area were struggling - people were still getting used to the the changes in restrictions and coming out of the other side of the pandemic was slow and hard. We wanted to find a way that would bring our community together but all the while being able to raise money for a local charity and so the festival was born!

We invite local businesses and organisations in the community to 'rent a plot' and bring along a tree to decorate in a way that best tells the local community and visitors who they are and what they do. We then open the doors to the general public to come and see the creations and if they would like they can donate money toward our chosen local charity of the year.

This year we will be raising money for The Devonport Food Club.

This is a local project run by churches together across Stoke and Devonport. The club is not a food bank it is a club by which for just £1 annual membership you are able to come along every Wednesday between 08:45 and 10:30 at St Aubyn's Church to get food at £1 per 5 items. The suppliers provide food that ordinarily would have gone to waste and is still safe to eat. 

During the pandemic food parcels were provided for families in the local community who were finding things particularly difficult and from this it was recognised that there was a need in the community for this type of facility. It was also recognised that there is a stigma attached to food banks and so the food club chose to 'charge' or ask for a donation that people could afford to help relieve some of this stigma whilst also helping the local community.