Kirkby's Christmas Crusade parade is coming back for 2024 but with a big new goal

Kirkby’s Christmas Crusade, which organises a huge festive parade through the streets in the run-up to Christmas, is coming back with a new goal.

In previous years, the parade has given out free selection boxes to kids, which have been donated by local residents, schools and businesses.

But for 2024, they’ve decided to support children in a different more long-lasting way – by raising funds to put ‘Buddy Benches’ into all of Kirkby’s primary schools to help any pupils who might be feeling isolated or lonely.

Andrea Roberts first came up with the idea for the Crusade back in 2020 when Covid lockdown shut grottos and families were struggling to afford the cost of Christmas.

She explains:

“At the time I was housing manager for Kirkby so I got our first sleigh built with a donation of £500 from Riverside who I worked for. Then I asked Franny Briggs and Jay Murray to get onboard with their Buddy the Elf costumes.

“The parade goes round four areas of Kirkby – Tower Hill, Northwood, Southdene and Westvale – and kids get a chance to see Santa and the characters.

“For the past few years we’ve also handed out selection boxes and last year we gave out 7,000.

“Each year the Crusade has got bigger and bigger, and we have to start planning in October so it’s three months spent on marketing, planning and getting donations in. There’s a huge amount of work goes into it.

“This year will be the final year for me and Jay because I have a full-time job and Jay runs his own business, The Fireplace Centre in St Helens, and it’s just become too big for us to juggle everything.

“We decided we’d rather step back while it was on a high and we have so many amazing memories of it.”

Knowing 2024 would be their last, Andrea came up with the Buddy Bench appeal.

“It’s something that started in America, and I actually spotted them online when I was looking for benches for St Lawrence’s where I was a governor,” she says.

“By sitting on one of these friendship benches, kids can signal their need for a friend or someone to talk to, and other children can easily recognise and offer support.

“I thought it would be a lovely way of spreading kindness and combating loneliness in our schools, and hopefully the community will give back to us after all the years we’ve given to them.

“What we want to do is raise enough money to buy 11 benches for each of our primary schools in Kirkby.

“The benches cost around £205 each, so with what’s left we can get them installed in the schools and hopefully if we have any extra we can get them painted in rainbow colours to make them stand out.

“If businesses cover the cost of a bench, we can have their name engraved on it.”

Andrea says the Kirkby’s Christmas Crusade parade will go ahead as usual on Friday and Saturday, December 13 & 14, only this time instead of giving out selection boxes volunteers walking alongside the sleigh will have collecting buckets.

There’s also a Just Giving page where supporters can donate.

“Every donation brings us closer to our £2,500 target and being able to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for our young ones,” she adds.