In 2019, we created the Welling Sparkle, with a Christmas market and a switch on of the lights attended by hundreds of people.   We were so looking forward to bringing back that Sparkle at Christmas 2020, but covid meant that the market was cancelled.  However, we were still able to raise the funds to light 38 lampposts and also got a festive banner and Christmas tree for Welling corner.  The Mayor was able to make a brief appearance to see the lights and managed to disappoint a child who thought that he was Father Christmas!   We were pleased that we still managed to get Welling looking festive even though lockdown meant that a lot of the shops had to remain closed.

This year we are planning on getting a bigger Christmas tree for Welling corner and we would like to get as much of Welling Town Centre lit up as possible.  We would love to get all 74 lamp posts lit up and will light as many as we can, spreading out from Welling Corner on Bellegrove Road, Upper Wickham Lane and Welling High Street.

Discover Welling loves to support the local community, so we are also doing something different this year and are going to 'pay it forward' - for each lamp post that we light up, we are going to donate £12 to the Welling Salvation Army so that they can provide a Christmas dinner experience for someone.

This Christmas in Welling, the Salvation Army is trying to provide every family and individual in need with a gift and with a Christmas meal.  The Christmas dinner experience means that everybody will get meat, veg, crackers, stuffing, things to nibble on and something nice to drink.  With our Crowdfunder this year, you get to help out two causes for the price of one, so we will light up Welling and light up some lives this Christmas.

Bexley Council have given a £2,200 grant for Welling Town Centre to help improve footfall and this year, we will be putting this towards the festive event with Christmas lights. Local businesses and groups are getting involved with sponsorship but we would also like to invite our community to participate through this crowdfunding campaign. Your pledges, large or small, will make a difference to what we can organise for the Welling community. Our fundraising target is £5,000,  This will enable us bring some sparkle to Welling this year. If we break through the target and achieve more we can look at having even MORE lights.

We are offering the following Sponsorship options again this year:

Donations of £50 or more

For a donation of £50 or more, you business name and logo will be added to our thank you image, which will be shared across our social media platforms throughout the Crowdfunder campaign and right up until New Year.  The image will also be made into large stickers that will be put on at least 20 of the festively lit lamp posts.

Donations of £170 or more

For a donation of £170 or more, you will be able to sponsor a whole lamp post and business name and logo will be made into a large sticker to put on a lamp post of your choice.  It will also be added to our thank you image, which will be shared across our social media platforms throughout the Crowdfunder campaign and right up until New Year.  

Donations of £10 or more

We have supporter window stickers for everyone who donated £10 or more to the campaign.  

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!

FAQs

Who is organising the Christmas campaign?   

The community group Discover Welling is organising the campaign, supported by the local councillors.

Shouldn’t the council be providing Christmas lights?  

Local authorities across the country have the same problems with the need to make savings to preserve essential services. Whether or not we raise the money ourselves will not affect the council’s position, so we may as well try to provide the lights as they won’t happen otherwise. The council provides a grant of £2,200 to each town centre within the borough to support town centres - historically this money has been used by the local Welling business forum (independent of the Council) to fund the Christmas lights.

Can anyone donate?

Absolutely! Please spread the word to all who may be interested, including people with Welling connections past and present.  You don’t have to live in Welling to contribute.

Can my donation be anonymous?

Yes this option is available.

Does Crowdfunder.co.uk charge any fees?

Yes, there are card transaction fees of 1.9% + 23p plus VAT.  There are no platform fees.  

Do I have to give online through the Crowdfunder?

No, you can either pay in through your own online banking, or go into your local bank to pay money in.  Details are available on request.

I can't afford to give much, is it worth it?

Absolutely, yes. If everyone in Welling gives something, however small, we can easily reach our target. It’s all the contributions added together that makes a decent total. We can’t do it with the support of just a few donors, however generous – reaching the target will require a large number of us all to do our bit.