The Christmas holidays have come and gone, but the echoes of festive cheer and community spirit still resonate at Royal Surrey Charity.

In December, The Friary Guildford organised the Christmas Tree Festival is support of local charities. The festival showcased ten beautifully decorated trees, each a unique creation by a local charity. Throughout the festive season, visitors to The Friary were captivated by the creativity of each tree and were able to learn about the invaluable work these organisations do to help support our community. Shoppers and locals were encouraged to vote for their favourite best-dressed tree right up to New Year’s Eve.

We are delighted to announce that we were named as the winning charity and were awarded a generous £1,000 donation from The Friary Guildford. 

Sandy Lowry, Community & Events Fundraising Manager for the Royal Surrey Charity, said:

We are absolutely thrilled to be the winner of The Friary’s Christmas Tree Festival 2023. We would like to thank The Friary Guildford for organising this wonderful Christmas community event for local charities to not only bring festive joy with their beautifully decorated trees but to highlight the amazing work they do. Royal Surrey Charity is so grateful to The Friary for allowing us to be part of this. I would also like to say an enormous thank you to everyone for their support in voting for us; we are so grateful to you all.

Vicky Hickson, Centre Manager of The Friary Guildford, said,

"We are proud to have fostered a spirit of giving and celebration here at The Friary this Christmas. All the charity trees looked amazing, and we really appreciate all the time and effort their volunteers put in to make them look so festive. A big congratulations to Royal Surrey Charity. We are extremely grateful to all our shoppers and local community for taking the time to vote, donate and support our community events, making this Christmas season truly special for Guildford.”

Thank you to all the shoppers and our supporters who voted for our tree: you’ve helped fund extraordinary care for our patients. 

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