Worthing charity spreads festive joy delivering presents to service users and residents

The festive bus, decked out in Christmas decorations and playing holiday music, travelled through the streets of Worthing, offering children the chance to spot Father Christmas as he made his way to a variety of Guild Care service locations.

Dressed as Father Christmas, Mrs Christmas and elves, Guild Care staff delivered presents to over 100 of their service users. The bus made stops at Guild Care’s Creating Connections, Birkdale Centre, and Fitzalan Howard Centre services on Monday and visited residents at their Linfield House, Caer Gwent and Haviland House care homes today.

Sammy Paynter, Health and Wellbeing Coordinator at Caer Gwent said, ‘Santa has come in and put a smile on our residents faces, they’ve been so happy to see him and his friends today. It’s made a massive difference. You can’t put a price on that, it’s wonderful to see.’

Guild Care’s vision is for all people in need of care to live fulfilling, safe and secure lives, this event served a dual purpose by also highlighting Guild Care's pressing need for volunteer drivers. Guild Care’s community services rely on dedicated volunteers, and they are actively seeking individuals willing to contribute their time to drive minibuses, ensuring that small groups of older people who face challenges accessing public transport can still enjoy their services.

Darren Bramber, Transport Manager at Guild Care said, ‘We’ve loved delivering Christmas presents to Guild Care's service users and spreading joy to the public, and hope that in doing so we have also raised awareness about Guild Care.’

The presents and outfits were generously donated by Wall Bros Carpets in Worthing.

Do you have time to volunteer with Guild Care? To find out more about volunteering head to www.guildcare.org/minibus-drivers or contact the Guild Care volunteering team on 01903 600602 or via email at [email protected].