It is with much excitement and enthusiasm that arc Shopping Centre announces its new Charity of the Year for 2023/2024: Gatehouse Bury St Edmunds.
Each year arc Shopping Centre chooses a local charity to support – one that they feel will be of greatest benefit to the Bury St Edmunds community! Given the current cost of living crisis, arc Shopping Centre is keen to support the foodbank service offered by Gatehouse, as well as their other important services.
Throughout the year’s partnership with Gatehouse, arc Shopping Centre will look to support the charity by raising donations, organising events and campaigns to raise awareness and funds, plus they’ll be volunteering their own team members to support key activities such as Gatehouse’s Christmas Project.
In previous years arc Shopping Centre has supported Suffolk Mind (in 2021/2022) and Suffolk Wildlife Trust (in 2022/2023) with lots of engagement from the local community. Talking about the new partnership, Allan Hassell, Centre Manager at arc, said: “We consider a lot of different factors when choosing our Charity of the Year and we really feel that, now more than ever, it’s important to support services such as local foodbanks, which are seeing a drop in donations when their service is most needed”.
“Gatehouse is a marvellous charity that runs numerous projects to support the community, including the most vulnerable in East Anglia. We are always impressed by the support our chosen charities receive from visitors at arc and we are sure this year’s charity will be well received and supported too” he continued.
Amanda Bloomfield, CEO of Gatehouse, said “We are delighted to have been chosen as Charity of the Year by arc Shopping Centre. Having year-round opportunities to engage with local visitors to Bury St Edmunds will help us harness the generosity and enthusiasm of our community and bring everyone together in our aims to help anyone in genuine need.”
arc Shopping Centre is already planning lots of fun-filled events to support the charity, including their Some Bunny Cares event on Monday 10th April, during which families will be able to complete an Easter egg hunt and spin the wheel to win an Easter treat for Gatehouse’s foodbank. In addition to this, arc Shopping Centre is donating a bundle of 50 Easter eggs for Gatehouse’s families to enjoy over the Easter period.