Santa visits Diggers Rest

Volunteers and families from Diggers Rest CFA with Santa (Supplied)

Diggers Rest Country Fire Association (CFA) teamed up with Santa and his merry elves on Sunday December 19 to continue on Diggers Rest’s annual Santa Run tradition for its 37th year.

Santa paraded through the streets on a CFA fire truck to visit more than 5,000 local kids with a sack of more than 50,000 lollies, donated by ‘Bloomdale’ by AVID Property Group (AVID).

AVID General Manager Victoria Peter Vlitas said being involved in this years’ CFA Santa Run was exciting for residents and team members alike.

“Our AVID team and residents love taking up opportunities to support local events and get involved, especially when it comes to Christmas and bringing festivities to life,” Mr Vlitas said.

“We’re thrilled to have been involved in Santa’s Run this year. Many of our Bloomdale residents

attended the event and the lollies were certainly a great way to sweeten up the day,” Mr Vlitas said.

“The Country Fire Association did an excellent job organising Santa’s Run a week out from Christmas, and we were thrilled to see everyone from Diggers Rest celebrating Christmas together.”

Diggers Rest CFA Captain Tim Welshe said the event was made possible by the generous support from local groups and businesses like Bloomdale and The Lions Club of Diggers Rest.

“The Diggers Rest CFA Santa Run has been a local tradition for more than 37 years and the event continues to bring joy to both the young and young at heart in our community,” Captain Welshe said.

“The CFA and the Lions Club are both 100 per cent volunteer run organisations, and the recent

lockdowns have meant we were unable to fundraise to run the event this year.

“The support from AVID has made the event possible and allowed us to use the funds we have in reserve to purchase equipment for our members to use in the protection of our town and the greater state of Victoria.”

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