Medway Rotary Club raises thousands through sleigh rides

The club has being doing this for forty years, as Chloe Brewster reports.

Transcript

00:00Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!

00:03Despite a very busy schedule at this time of year, Santa's been paying a visit to children in Medway just ahead of the big day.

00:09But he can't do it without a little bit of help.

00:13Gillingham Rotary Club helps Santa make the trip round Gillingham and Rainham every single year.

00:18Gillingham Rotary has existed almost a hundred years, in a few years time we'll be a hundred years old.

00:23And collecting wise we've been doing the collection with the float for probably about four years now.

00:30On most occasions we collect between ten and twenty thousand each Christmas period.

00:35This year there's the Wisbon Hospice, Kent Association of Blind and a few other local charities.

00:46As well as just the, obviously the collecting, it's good PR.

00:51We get a huge amount of parents and children coming out, walking round with the sleigh shouting at Father Christmas.

00:59It's nice to get into the Christmas spirit prior to Christmas.

01:02And especially on our last day, always, is on Christmas Eve.

01:06And we're collecting the most money on Christmas Eve.

01:08And that really is very festive, you know.

01:11It's very sluggish too.

01:12People are offering you glasses of sherry, of mince pies and so on and so forth.

01:17So it's, yeah, it's a nice thing to do as well as a very valuable thing to do to collect ten thousand of pounds for charity.

01:25It was really cool. I like his sleigh.

01:29The club will embark on seven routes around the area over the festive period, visiting thousands of families.

01:35But what does Santa think of it all?

01:37All right. So I did it the other day as well.

01:39And it makes, to see everyone's faces when they see Santa is the best, it's the best feeling in the world.

01:44Just seeing them light up.

01:45That's what Christmas is about, isn't it?

01:46About the kids and enjoying yourselves.

01:48And yeah, it's fantastic.

01:50Just watching kids light up and yeah, Christmas spirit.

01:53What's been the top present kids have been asking for all this year?

01:56Oh, top present. Scooters.

01:58Scooters?

01:59Scooters. Yeah, scooters. The kids love a scooter at the moment, yeah.

02:02They say kids don't want to go out anymore.

02:03No, no, they're loving a scooter. Yeah, every time I ask, scooters. Scooters and cuddly toys. Always a cuddly toy.

02:09After a quick chat, Santa had to get back to his duties, setting off at speed down East Court Lane in Gillingham.

02:15Merry Christmas.

02:16Chloe Brewster for KMTV in Gillingham.