AUTISM CHARITY TO HOST SEASONAL SHOPPING WEEKEND AND VIRTUAL GROTTO EXPERIENCE

A local charity is celebrating Christmas with its own seasonal shopping weekend and a ‘virtual’ Santa’s Grotto.

Autism Together, which provides support to autistic adults and families across Wirral and West Cheshire, has created these two events to help raise much-needed funds for the charity.

The festive shopping weekend is taking place at Autism Together’s recently reopened Bromborough Pool Garden Centre, giving the opportunity for the public to grab a range of Christmas gifts, with many items made by the autistic adults the charity supports.

The Festive Weekend event takes place on Saturday the 10th and Sunday the 11th of December, between 10am and 4pm.

During this time the Garden Centre and Café will be fully open, offering festive treats in the café, a great selection of seasonal plants for sale, plus a range of hand-crafted gifts and a prize tombola too.

Emma Crabb, who manages the Bromborough Pool Garden Centre, said:

“We’re looking forward to opening our doors to the public for this very special festive weekend.

“If you’re after seasonal gifts and treats then you’ll love the items we have on sale, with many handmade creations from the people we support, including Christmas wreaths, beautiful baskets, and intricate ceramics too. Perfect gifts for yourself or a loved one this Christmas.

“Our Café will also be open, offering hot chocolate and mince pies, hot and cold food, and a selection of delicious cakes.”

In other news, Autism Together’s Virtual Santa’s Grotto is returning this Christmas due to its popularity over recent pandemic-hit years, allowing families from around the country and across the world to request a personalised video message from Santa and his elves.

Chloe Jones from the charity’s Fundraising Team explained:

“Santa and his elves have agreed to make personalised videos messages for our followers and supporters again this Christmas.

“All our videos can be made completely personal to the individual, and emailed to anyone and any place in the world to be downloaded and treasured forever.

“It’s also important to say we offer a fully autism-friendly experience, so you can choose to have the background Christmas lights turned off and we can use Makaton signing or visual structures to aid communication too.

“When you book your video you can include all the details that you would like us to mention to truly personalise each video, and our Virtual Grotto experience is available for adults and children alike to enjoy.”

Details of all of Autism Together’s Christmas events can be accessed via their website: 

www.autismtogether.co.uk/christmas/

If you would like to support the work Autism Together does, you can make a donation via the charity’s website: 

www.autismtogether.co.uk/donate

About Autism Together:

Autism Together is a charity and service provider supporting over 400 people on the autism spectrum. Founded in Wirral in 1968 by a group of concerned parents, the organisation now employs around 800 staff and has operations in Wirral, Cheshire and North Wales.

• It offers specialist autism services for families and children, residential care, supported living, training and advice sessions.
• It has its our own garden centre, farm, canal boat, rock band and choir.
• The people the charity supports can learn diverse skills in activities such as swimming, cycling, trampolining, IT, painting, ceramics and more.
• In the past decade, the organisation has won a variety of awards for its range of services for autistic people.

About Bromborough Pool Garden Centre:

Bromborough Pool Garden Centre & Café recently reopened to the public after closing during the pandemic. It offers a chance for the people Autism Together supports to gain valuable workplace and social skills, while serving customers and working behind the scenes.

There is a free car park on site and the address is:

The Green, Bromborough Pool Village, CH62 4TT.

Pictured - Mr C and Kerry, two of the people Autism Together supports (pictured wearing grey aprons) with Bromborough Pool Garden Centre manager Emma Crabb.