Santa comes to Rochdale to raise money for charity

Santa’s Grotto will be open at Rochdale Exchange every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in December and Monday 19 to Friday 23.

Rochdale shoppers are set to hear sleigh bells ringing at the town’s shopping centre next week when Santa opens his grotto for local charities.

From Friday, 2 December, parents and their children will be invited to Rochdale Exchange Shopping Centre, as Santa and his elves swap the North Pole for the centre’s very own winter grotto to raise money for one of three organisations - Springhill Hospice, RSPCA Rochdale and Petrus.

Santa’s Grotto will be open at Rochdale Exchange from 11am to 4pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in December and will be open every day between Friday 16 and Friday 23 December 2016. 

Lorenzo O’Reilly, Rochdale Exchange Shopping Centre, said the opening of the grotto will officially launch the Christmas festivities at the shopping centre. “We are really excited to have Santa back at Rochdale Exchange,” he said. “Last year was a huge success with shoppers raising more than £3,400 for Rochdale Children’s Moorland Home, so we thought it was the perfect opportunity to continue fundraising for local charities.”

In October, the shopping centre invited shoppers to nominate an organisation to benefit from the grotto’s proceeds. “We had a fantastic response to our search for a Christmas charity on social media,” he said. “We received 671 nominations for more than 50 charities and we were really pleased to shortlist Springhill Hospice, RSPCA Rochdale and Petrus.”

Shoppers will be asked to vote for a charity through a token system at the grotto. “All the funds from the grotto will be donated to one of the charities, so we are encouraging Rochdale families to come along for a brilliant visit with Santa and show their support for the local organisations.”

For a full list of the dates the grotto will be open, please visit the Rochdale Exchange web site:

• www.rochdaleexchange.co.uk