Santa Claus helped create a Miracle on Middlegate as he was transported through Penrith in a Coca Cola Christmas wrapped VW Beetle for a lunch date at the town’s Edington Centre.
Organised by Jonathan Johnstone, 42, of Long Marton, the festive treat was part of an awareness raising campaign designed to shine a brighter light on the activities of the Edington Centre’s day services for people with learning disabilities in Penrith.
Of the journey through town, Jonathan said: “It was really good, really enjoyable. There was a great reaction as we drove through the town with Santa in the car down past the Alhambra and turned right at the clock tower. We got loads of waves and we were playing Christmas carols out of the windows as we drove up to the Edington Centre. It was magic, really good fun.”
Based at Rheged, Jonathan is a kitchen manager for the Westmorland Family and got involved with the Edington Centre through his latest module as part of a chartered management degree he is doing at the University of Cumbria, Ambleside.
As part of the module, focused on project planning, they had to choose a local group or charity for which to raise funds or awareness.
Jonathan has a personal connection to the centre as his wife, Lisa, is one of the managers there.
He said he was aware that people at the centre make and sell crafts, taking things like old Christmas trees and turning them into wreaths, as well as making festive decorations which they sell at places like Yanwath School and Morrisons to raise money for the centre.
Initially, Jonathan’s group, of which he was the project lead, decided that they could help raise awareness of these activities, but then realised that the centre did not really have a social media presence – there was no Facebook page for the centre or Instagram profile.
“There was no noise about them,” he said.
So wheels were put in motion to build a social media infrastructure which could then be handed over to the centre, which is run by Westmorland and Furness Council under its remit for adult social care.
“As part of the infrastructure, obviously you need content, so we have been posting pictures and videos of the crafts that they have been making. We have done little recap videos of their trip to Base Camp North Lakes,” said Jonathan.
In addition, a Christmas sing-a-long was arranged, with saw Jonathan picking up his guitar.
The loan of the Coca Cola Christmas wrapped VW beetle car came from Martin Lee, of Penrith-based Smart decorators.
“He is a big Christmas fan. His house is lit up from October 31 and he has had the car for a couple of years,” explained Jonathan.
Both he and Martin have children at Long Marton School and after hearing about Jonathan’s plan to get Father Christmas to visit the Edington Centre, Martin said: “I have got the car for you!”
Every service user got a picture of themselves sitting in the car next to Santa, who had more than a passing resemblance to the centre’s Gary Russell.
Jonathan and his group of chartered management degree apprentices, which included Jasmine Wardropper, George Yates-Bell and Jude Farron, son of the Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim, said they hoped by creating this social media presence, it will give the people at the Edington Centre a voice in the digital world and show everybody what they are doing.
