Students and staff from Chesterfield College took part in a 3km Santa Dash yesterday to raise money for Derbyshire Stroke Centre. There was a sea of Santas, a team of elves, a Christmas tree, a Grinch and plenty of other fantastic festive fancy dress costumes at the event in Queens Park in Chesterfield.

The participants all braved the rain to support the Principal’s Charity of the Year. Their efforts raised over £600, which the charity say is vital to help them carry out their work and develop services to support people who have suffered a stroke.

Debbie Newton from Derbyshire Stroke Centre came to the event to cheer on the runners. Before she started the race she told us:

“I am amazed at the turnout today, it is fantastic. Fundraising has taken a back seat during the pandemic so whatever we are able to raise is amazing. Events like this are superb and very important to raise awareness about the centre and the support that is available as well. We are currently fundraising for specialist transport for people with mobility issues to access our day centre. We offer a door-to-door service.”

The centre offers a community for stroke survivors, and has a café and a gym on site. It also provides a day centre which offers a range of activities from exercise to dance groups as well as singers and entertainers. At the moment, around 50 to 100 people use the service throughout the week.

The Santa Dashers were keen to raise funds for the centre and enjoyed a bit of healthy competition too. There were prizes for the fastest student and staff runners as well as for the best fancy dress outfits.

Students from across the college took part in the dash. Media students took photographs and videos to document the event and public services students marshalled the event.

Julie Richards, Principal and Chief Executive Officer of The Chesterfield College Group, said; “It was wonderful to see so many staff and students supporting Derbyshire Stroke Centre this morning. I’d like to thank them for their generosity and community spirit. Not only was it a fantastic festive start to the last week of term before the Christmas holidays, I know the money raised will be put to good use too. The service the charity provides offers such a lifeline to so many people and I am proud that the college is able to support them.”

Thank you to Chesterfield College for this news story. If you would like to share a news story from your organisation, we’d love to hear from you. Email us at media@skillsedugroup.co.uk.