VOLUNTEERS from Altrincham housing developer Lovell pitched in to help Christmas preparations at the Children’s Adventure Farm Trust charity – including using their construction skills to create a temporary home for reindeer.

A seven strong team cleared out a barn and used hay bales and planks to create the reindeer centre as well as collecting and distributing a mammoth set of Christmas decorations to transform the 10-acre farm site into a spectacular winter wonderland.

Based at Booth Bank Farm, Millington, near Altrincham, the Adventure Farm hosts holidays and other activity programmes for terminally ill, disabled and disadvantaged children from across the North West. From mid-November, it welcomes parties of children each day with festive attractions including the reindeer centre, an inflatable snow globe and Santa’s grotto. Some 300 children are set to visit this year.

“The Lovell volunteers are a great bunch of people, they worked hard and were a pleasure to have here,” says Adventure Farm head of operations Tom Farrington. “Thanks to their help, I’m a week ahead with my preparations for our Christmas fun days which is always a huge task. We’re extremely grateful for their support.”

The new reindeer centre will house two reindeer who will have the charity’s own resident miniature donkeys, Polly and Candy, as neighbours.

Lovell sales and marketing coordinator Rebecca Moore says: “We loved helping out at the Adventure Farm – it’s a special place which makes a huge difference to children’s lives. As an Altrincham-based company, it was fantastic to have the chance to get involved and support their work. It’s very much in keeping with the company’s focus on helping local organisations and communities in the neighbourhoods where our offices and projects are based.”

The team from national housing developer and regeneration specialist Lovell took part through the company’s corporate volunteering scheme.