In 2019, we created the Welling Sparkle, with a Christmas market and a switch on of the lights attended by hundreds of people. In 2021, we brought the Sparkle back to Welling after having had to cancel most of the festivities in 2020 due to lockdown.
This year we are planning to get a big Christmas tree for Welling corner again 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 hoping to 'pay it forward' again this year by donating money to a local good cause if we achieve our target of raising enough funds to light a minimum of 46 lamp posts.
Bexley Council have given a £2,450 grant for Welling Town Centre which we will be putting this towards the Christmas lights and the Welling Sparkle Christmas market. 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 for this Crowdfunder is £5,000, This will enable us to bring some sparkle to Welling again 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, your 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. We will also share this on our website on our Christmas page and it will remain on the website for people to look back on in future years.
Donations of £200 or more
For a donation of £200 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. We will also share this on our website on our Christmas page and it will remain on the website for people to look back on in future years.
Donations of £10 or more
We have supporter window stickers for everyone who donates £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 £2,450 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 2.4% + 20p 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.