CASH FOR KIDS APPEAL GETS A LIFT FROM A VOLKSWAGEN VAN CENTRE

A Sheffield van centre is getting behind the Cash for Kids Christmas Appeal by providing an alternative Santa sledge to help collect its Christmas gift donations.

Gilder Van Centre has supplied a brightly coloured Volkswagen Crafter van to collect and deliver the thousands of gifts South Yorkshire residents are generously giving to less fortunate local children so they receive a present on Christmas day.

So far this year, 2,952 children have benefited from the Cash for Kids donations totalling £103,320 worth of gifts.

The appeal hopes this early success will encourage more people to leave a gift at any Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, Tesco or one of the drop-off points. All gifts are given to local youngsters who would otherwise go without at Christmas.

Charity manager, Katy Winterschladen is delighted with its success so far.

She said: “We rely so much on the generosity of the public and local businesses to help make this appeal a success.

“Sadly there are many children in our area whose circumstances and living conditions mean that they would otherwise wake up to nothing on Christmas day. We work closely with social services and organisations to ensure the gifts and donations we receive are going to the right children.

“We aim to help over 8,000 children so managing all the gifts is impossible without the support of Gilder Van Centre, our volunteers and sponsors.”

David May, head of business at Gilder Van Centre said: “It is heartbreaking to hear that children are suffering and for it to be on your own door step is even more tragic.

“Therefore we are more than happy to get behind this appeal and help Christmas sparkle for more children in our area.”

All gifts must be donated by Friday, December 17 to guarantee delivery in time for Christmas.

For further information on the appeal visit www.hallamfm.co.uk/cashforkids.

For more information contact Sue Foster or Becki Oake on 01902 714 957 or sue@connect-group.com / becki@connect-group.com.

Van Centre supports Council gas-powered trial

A Volkswagen van centre is supporting Sheffield City Council’s bid to reduce its carbon footprint.

Gilder Van Centre has supplied seven EcoFuel Volkswagen Caddy’s, which run on gas made from food waste.

The vehicles are part of a six month trial with Sheffield City Council to establish the practicalities of operating a low carbon, low emission fleet as an alternative to petrol or diesel.

The Caddy’s engines are designed to run on compressed natural gas, biomethane, provided by Chesterfield BioGas. A refuelling facility has been installed at the Councils depot where the biomethane is stored in cylinders and delivered to the vehicles through a fast fill dispenser system.

David May, head of business at Gilder Van Centre, said: “This is a very exciting project and provides an ideal opportunity to highlight the benefits of the EcoFuel Caddy to consumers.

“There’s nothing unusual about running on biomethane in the rest of Europe. In fact, Volkswagen sold 7,500 EcoFuel Caddy’s in 2008. But the technology is just gaining traction here, not least because there are biogas suppliers guaranteeing to fix prices 10 per cent below diesel for years ahead." said David.

After the trial, the Volkswagen Caddy’s performance will be evaluated to assess the environmental benefits and cost savings achieved compared to equivalent sized diesel vans the City Council has been using up until now.

Sheffield City Council project manager, Sarah Rani, said: “The size of the gas-powered Caddy’s comfortably met our fleet requirements and were one of the only vehicles available on the market suitable for this project.

“Our is aim to improve air quality, tackle climate change and reduce emissions from Sheffield City Council’s fleet operations and services. We believe it is our responsibility to lead by example and demonstrate best practice and to encourage the use of cleaner vehicles in Sheffield.”

The project is being run in partnership with Volkswagen, Chesterfield Bio gas, Mercedes and is jointly funded by the Area Based Grant and the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Grant.