As we head into another year, we want to take a moment to reflect on the impact your support had over the Christmas period.
Christmas is always the busiest time in the Rockinghorse calendar, with so many events, present deliveries, and general festive fundraising going on that it can sometime be hard to fully appreciate what has been achieved until the new year.
Thanks to our wonderful supporters in local businesses, schools, and so many people in the Sussex community, we were able to bring Christmas to hundreds of children spending time in hospital in December.
Some of the highlights during December included the light switch on at The Grand with Brett and Helen Mendoza and their twins Tillie and Theo, which really kicked off the Christmas celebrations.
Then on 8 December we attended the fabulous Sussex Business Awards where we were the chosen charity for the event. This resulted in an amazing £12,000 being raised on the night through the generous support of everyone buying raffle tickets.
From the beginning of December, we were able to deliver hundreds of advent calendars throughout the county to children visiting hospital and then during the rest of the month we had so many local businesses organising gift collections for us, it meant that no-one missed out on a gift at Christmas.
Our wonderful supporters at Churchill Square shopping centre once again had their Giving Trees where shoppers could buy a gift for a child in hospital. This year this wonderful campaign raised over £12,500 worth of gifts.
But our support wasn’t just giving gifts. We also funded a visit from Father Christmas and some donkeys to the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, and the ever-popular outpatients Christmas Party at The Brighton Hilton where children could enjoy a disco, photobooth, face painting and some fun activities.
On 18 December we welcomed some of our supporters from the local business community to The Royal Alex for our
annual light-up event. Every year we light up the side of the hospital as a way of recognising our supporters and saying thank you to our wonderful NHS staff.
And then last, but not least, our Aidan’s Christmas Dinner Project saw volunteers packing and delivering hampers on Christmas Eve to families in hospital and then serving up a delicious meal on Christmas Day in the Royal Alex for staff and families who weren’t able to get home.
All in all, it was another busy but wonderful Christmas, and we simply can’t thank every single person who helped us make sure no child misses out on the fun of the most magical time of the year.
Looking ahead, 2026 is already shaping up to be full of great events and fundraising challenges. We have our fabulous new gala, the Rockinghorse Circus of Dreams, in March, the Brighton Half and Full Marathon in March and April, and lots more.
Just keep an eye out on our events page here, along with our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn) to make sure you don’t miss a thing this year.
