New sleigh for Santa as volunteers hit the road to spread Christmas cheer!

Rotherham Round Table and Rotherham Sitwell Rotary will be criss-crossing large areas of the borough from Sunday as they carry out their annual deliveries of Christmas cheer and collect vital cash to support good causes.

The Santa Sleigh runs have become part of Christmas tradition for many and the festive favourite will be travelling in even more style this year.

Round Table and Rotherham 41 Club members have been hard at work giving the sleigh a makeover, stripping it down to the bare bones and rebuilding the seasonal transport to make it even more impressive than usual.

The 2022 edition sleigh has been given a bright new paint job and fitted with sparkling new lights to cut through the winter nights.

Community service officer Phil O’Brien said: “Everyone involved is excited to hit the streets and bring Santa to the people of Rotherham.

“All money collected will go directly to benefit the people of the town and we really appreciate everyone’s generosity at what is a difficult time for many.

“You can find our live sleigh tracker on our Rotherham Round Table 24 Facebook page — it shows you exactly where we have been and the direction we are heading.

“I want to say a huge thanks to all those who have helped with the sleigh renovations over the last few months, especially our members Mark Allen, Adrian Simpson, Jay Ostrowka, Sean Meehan and Liam Twigg, local businesses Allen Engineering and MAES, and to splitcharge.co.uk for providing us with a towing vehicle, as well as all the volunteers who give up their evenings and weekends at an already busy time to raise money.

“Remember, we are always on the look out for good causes to support, so please do get in touch.”

Santa begins his tour of Rotherham with a visit to the Lord Reresby pub from 4pm on Sunday, December 11, followed by a trip to greet his fans at the Winter Green in Waverley from 6pm.

He will then be on the move every evening from Tuesday, December 13, right up to Christmas Eve in the following areas:

December 13: Waverley

December 14: Waverley    

December 15: Canklow and Whiston    

December 16: Brinsworth: Phoenix estate

December 17: Brinsworth: Winchester Way/Pringle Road estate    

December 18: Brinsworth: Broadway/Ridgeway estate    

December 19: Stag

December 20: Brecks    

December 21: Wickersley

December 22: Bramley    

December 23: Grange estate

Christmas Eve: Duke of Norfolk estate, Moorgate

Proceeds from the sleigh runs go to support charities, community groups and good causes in Rotherham, with Crossroads Care, Brinsworth Senior Social Club and Start a Heart 24/7 all among the beneficiaries so far this year.

You can make a donation to this year’s appeal by visiting https://justgiving.com/campaign/RoundTableSleigh22.

Email [email protected] to apply for a community grant.