Glasgow Fort raises £3k for Glasgow Spirit of Christmas campaign

Donations were made by shoppers through the centre’s Giving Box – where customers could donate £3, £5 or £10 using contactless payment – while £1 was donated from every ride on Glasgow Fort’s Christmas train ride.

What is the Spirit of Christmas campaign?

Glasgow’s Spirit of Christmas campaign is a yearly project that provides local children affected by hardship or poverty with presents on Christmas day. The campaign, which is now in its seventh year, has provided 63,887 children from across Glasgow with over £2.2m worth of gifts so far.

The festive fundraising follows a £2000 donation from Glasgow Fort to Cultivating Mindfulness, the charity behind the Spirit of Christmas campaign – bringing the total raised to £5200.

Cultivating Mindfulness is a Glasgow-based charity that is committed to supporting the wellbeing of young people aged 12-23 from its Wellbeing Centre in Muirend. It regularly hosts a range of wellbeing programmes and activities including meditation, yoga and pilates sessions, and aims to help local youngsters to live happier, healthier and more meaningful lives.

‘Wonderful job’

Phil Goodman, centre director at Glasgow Fort, said: “Every year the Spirit of Christmas campaign does a wonderful job of bringing Christmas cheer to children who might otherwise go without presents over the festive period. And thanks to the generosity of our visitors, we’re continuing to support the important work Cultivating Mindfulness does for young people in our community.”

Julie Griffin, from Glasgow’s Spirit of Christmas, said: “Last year was our biggest challenge yet. With so many families experiencing unprecedented levels of hardship, we saw a massive increase in children’s referrals who needed support.

“The overwhelming generosity and kind donations we received from everyone at Glasgow Fort was heart-warming and helped to ensure over 19,000 local children in and around Glasgow woke up to a collection of exciting and relevant gifts on Christmas Day.

“We are truly grateful to everyone for their amazing support again, which helped make Christmas a truly magical and inclusive experience for so many children."