Words by Ed King
Castle Vale is kickstarting the festive season by planting a real Christmas Tree in Centre Park, with an official ‘lights switch-on’ event to be held at 4:30pm on Thursday 5 December.
Free to attend, local residents are all invited to see the Castle Vale Christmas Tree illuminations, with stalls serving donuts and hot chocolate throughout the event.
The Castle Vale Christmas Tree, which stands at over 14ft tall, has been permanently rooted in the park off Tangmere Drive and will be a central part of the estate’s Christmas celebrations for years to come.
Organised by The Pioneer Group, the modern-day housing association that evolved from the old Castle Vale Community Housing Association, the tree was donated by Nationwide Windows and Doors – as part of their partnership with The Pioneer Group to help support local residents on the North Birmingham estate.
Nationwide Windows and Doors also donated 60m of special Christmas lights to decorate the tree, which organisers hope will stand as a beacon on community spirit throughout the dark winter nights.
The Pioneer Group manage over 2000 homes on Castle Vale and have previously worked on a widespread windows and doors replacement programme with Nationwide, helping make homes more energy efficient and increasing security.
Simon Wilson, Chief Executive at The Pioneer Group, told Castle Vale Local: “The Christmas tree lights switch-on is a great way to bring our community together during the festive season. My thanks go to everyone involved in making this event happen.”
He added: “Special thanks to Nationwide [Doors and Windows] for donating the tree and to Councillor [Ray[ Goodwin for his support to bring this event to life. This event will kick start our celebrations across Pioneer and Compass Support with a host of festive activities taking place this December.”
Councillor Ray Goodwin (Castle Vale, Labour) also championed the partnerships that made sure some festive fun came to Castle Vale this Christmas.
He told: “My sincere thanks to The Pioneer Group and its partners for embracing the Christmas spirit in such an amazing way. This is a true testament to Castle Vale and the strength of its partnership working that made this possible.”
Kevin Caveney, Director of Commercial Sales at Nationwide Windows and Doors, further stated: “We are deeply committed to creating social value in the communities we serve. We understand the importance of fostering community spirit, especially during the holiday season, and we’re proud to support Castle Vale with the donation of a community Christmas Tree.”
He added: “It’s our privilege to work alongside the Castle Vale community to make this Christmas a little brighter and to demonstrate how businesses can create meaningful impact through small but powerful gestures.”
Throughout December, The Pioneer Group and its charitable subsidiary Compass Support will be helping local residents this Christmas with outreach campaigns to provide food, household goods, and even presents to those who are struggling over the festive period.
Special Christmas Hampers will be made up and distributed to local residents in need, providing groceries and everyday essentials, with people asked to donate an old ‘bag for life’ from their supermarket shopping to hold the goods in.
Anyone who can donate a ‘bag for life’ for the Christmas Hamper campaign is asked to drop them into The Pioneer Group offices on Castle Vale High Street before 16 December.
The Sanctuary Community Centre is also organising the ‘Caring Together at Christmas’ campaign, where a special Christmas Tree will stand in the community centre entrance featuring tags hung on its branches with ideas for presents for local children in need.
Charitable members of the public can then choose to purchase a gift for a local young person, akin to the Secret Santa gift giving idea, and help make sure each child on Castle Vale has something to unwrap on Christmas Day.
Anyone wishing to nominate a child to receive a special Christmas gift can visit The Sanctuary and ask to fill out a form with the child’s name, age, and suggested gift ideas.
To contact The Sanctuary and Compass Support directly please call (0121) 748 8111 or email [email protected]
For more on The Pioneer Group visit www.pioneergroup.org.uk and for more on Compass Support visit www.compass-support.org.uk
For more on Nationwide Doors and Windows visit www.nwd.co.uk