A SHOPPING centre in the heart of Stirling has launched a campaign ahead of the city’s 900 anniversary.
The Thistles Shopping Centre’s Thistles 900 campaign aims to bring the Stirling community together and challenge them to contribute towards the goal of walking 900km around the Thistles shopping centre whilst honoring the city’s 900 years and raising money.
Thistles has teamed up with a local children’s social enterprise, Babes in the Wood to bring different kinds of events to the city to reach the campaign goal.
Babes in the Wood aims to tackle child poverty in Stirling by reducing landfill waste and offering low-discount children’s items for parents and carers.
Linda Barrack, managing director at Babes in the Wood, said: “We were thrilled to work in partnership with Thistles for this exciting event.
“The Stirling community has been so welcoming and supportive of the work we do since we opened in 2018 and I’m sure they’ll be keen to get involved.
“The demand for our free children’s clothing packs has grown exponentially this year & we couldn’t provide these essentials without community involvement.
“We look forward to the Thistles 900 Campaign & fostering more community partnerships as a result.”
The campaign started on Saturday, October 26 with a Halloween event known as the ‘Monster Dash’ with children completing laps of the shopping centre in their Halloween costumes and stopping for treats along the way, and more events are expected to take place until April 2025.
Gary Turnbull, centre director at Thistles, said: “It was great to see the community get immediately involved in our Thistles 900km challenge to celebrate our city’s rich history.
“By coming together to achieve this goal, we hope to foster connections and create lasting memories.
“The Monster Dash was a fantastic way to kick things off, and we can’t wait to host further events.”
Established in 1977, Thistle’s shopping centre has become a beloved place amongst the residents of Stirling as they can shop for popular high street brands and offer over 70 shops and cafes under one roof with car and public transport accessibility.
