Crowdfunder to save Monton Village Christmas lights beats £20,000 target in just four weeks

A Crowdfunder to save Monton village Christmas lights has beaten its £20,000 target.

The Christmas lights, which had been a feature of Monton for 25 years, were under threat because the Covid pandemic had left the village community association with no funds.

Now more than 60 volunteers have come together to raise funds and contribute in lots of practical ways to keep the lights display going.

Monton Village Community Association chair, Lisa Muir, said: “We have raised over £22,000, with cash donations as well that goes into the bank. We have managed to get everything done for free, so everything you see  – the flyers, the video, people offering their labour, electrical expertise to get the lights on, everyone had volunteered.

“The village really came together, and has shown us what we can do.

“We are all so busy but if we donate an hour of our time it makes a real difference. That’s what I am trying to get across to people. We can still be volunteers even as busy parents and busy working lives.

“It’s given the community a morale boost. It’s helped us see what we can achieve when we work together, and inspired a lot of people to start volunteering.”

When she heard the village association was being wound down she was determined to save it despite being a working mum with two small children.

She said: “I knew all the stuff they did with the Christmas lights and the event. I said to them ‘you can’t wind the association down’, but they didn’t have volunteer numbers.

“Then Covid hit, we couldn’t fundraise, there was no money in the account.”

But an appeal on social media raised enough support to keep the association going.

“We decided to crowd fund because Andrew Booth, who owns a few of the shops, messaged asking if we would like Christmas lights, and said he would donate £1,000 to that,” she said.

“He was really the inspiration behind thinking we can raise this money and get the Christmas lights on.

“It’s about getting the community together again and realise that we can make improvements in our village if we work together.”

Local shops also provided raffle prizes for residents who donated to the Crowdfunder.