Thistles shopping centre celebrates year of successful community engagement campaigns
Thistles shopping centre in Stirling continued its focus on community engagement in 2022 through its successful #ThistlesHelps campaigns.
Started in 2021, the campaigns provide a way for the centre to help local charities for the benefit of people in the Forth Valley region.
One of the biggest campaigns in 2022 was the introduction of an immersive ‘around the world’ mini golf course within the centre last summer, which was completely free to play. , Thistles partnered with local sports charity Scottish Sports Futures on the scheme where donation stations raised over £1,300 for the charity.
In addition, multiple staff members carried out essential work at the Braehead community garden in Stirling. The team helped out over a number of weeks in the summer to improve facilities with activities including everything from giving the clubhouse a fresh lick of paint to bringing out a digger to construct new footpaths for the compost area and the bee house.
Gary Turnbull, centre director at Thistles, said: “We were delighted to get out and help with the work being done at the Braehead community garden and even more thrilled to be there on the few days of good weather Scotland has to offer. The #ThistlesHelps campaigns have been something that all of us at Thistles have loved getting involved with and we’re excited to look forward to the great work we’ve got planned for next year.”
More recently, Thistles partnered with children’s story author Alan Windram in a creative storytelling competition for primary schools from Stirling and further afield where children had the chance to write their own Christmas story. The winner, Emma Russell from St Mary’s Episcopal Primary School, will have her story published in 2023 with all proceeds going to the school’s fundraising efforts.
