Palace Presents

Palace Presents is back for 2023!

After being blowing away by the generosity of local people for the past three years, we're delighted to be bringing back Palace Presents again. Scores of people being supported by amazing local charities have woken up to presents on Christmas Day thanks to the scheme and this year the charities involved will include Newark Women’s Aid, Newark Emmaus Trust and YMCA Newark and Sherwood.

All donations of new, unused gifts are appreciated, and examples include items such as chocolates, biscuits, beauty and personal care items, toys and games, clothing like scarves, hats, socks, gloves, fluffy socks, covered hot water bottles, and useful household items for setting up a home.

Presents should be wrapped with a removable tag indicating the contents and who they might be suitable for and can be dropped off at the Box Office from Tuesday 28 November to Saturday 16 December. Donations can be made during our opening hours of Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, or when attending a performance of our spectacular pantomime Snow White.

Councillor Rowan Cozens, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Heritage, Culture and the Arts at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “This is such a lovely initiative and a great way to spread the joy while doing your Christmas shopping in our fantastic independent stores or while visiting the Palace to enjoy their wonderful pantomime with family and friends. This time of year is all about sharing and giving and Palace Presents offers the chance to include even more people in that so I do encourage you to get involved if able.”

Palace Presents 2022

We'd like to thank everyone who got involved with our Palace Presents scheme in 2022 for making it the most successful year yet. 263 gifts, the highest figure in the three years that Palace Presents has been running, were donated to six local charities and Newark Academy, many of whom have sent their own messages of thanks:

Cathy Lowe, Head of Fundraising at Beaumond House Hospice: “This is the third time that patients at Beaumond House have benefited from the incredible generosity of local people through this scheme. The gifts are all beautifully wrapped and we know they are received with incredible gratitude. Thank you to everyone who donated and to the Palace for a wonderful and thoughtful scheme.”

Newark Emmaus Trust: “This is a fantastic initiative by the Palace Theatre and Newark and Sherwood District Council. We were fortunate enough to be one of the beneficiaries of this scheme both this year and last. The gifts collected make a huge difference to our residents and their children who are always very appreciative of the generosity of the local community and the Christmas spirit being shared.”

Mr Andrew Athey, Associate School Leader at Newark Academy: “My team and I went out the other morning with heaps of wonderful and generously donated gifts from Palace Presents - supporting some of the most vulnerable young people in our organisation this Christmas. It was a very humbling experience for us all, but also truly joyous seeing the smiles on our students' faces when passing over the presents.

“The donated gifts were amazing and showed that a great deal of thought had gone into matching the perfect gifts to the students and suggestions we put forward. Every single student who we put forward as an organisation received a donated gift - this was wonderful, and we are so very thankful!”

Think Children: "Many thanks to all of the kind donations that have been gifted to Think Children. The items we have received will offer direct support to children who are struggling with their mental health and donations, such as these, ensure that the quality services we offer can continue."

Nikki Burley, Chief Executive Officer of Newark Emmaus Trust: "On behalf of the Newark Emmaus Trust, I would like to thank you for organising the gift donation initiative. We are truly grateful for the Christmas gifts which we have received for our residents."

Newark Women's Aid said: "The gifts we received from the Palace Presents Scheme, were truly amazing and so beautifully wrapped! We really cannot thank you enough and stress the difference these make to our families at Christmas time.

"Our charity supports women and children who have had to flee their own homes due to domestic abuse, the thoughtfulness of others taking their time to donate and wrap gifts to ensure families like ours receive something to open at Christmas is really overwhelming. With the current cost of living crisis we understand times are difficult for everyone and we assumed the donations may of reflected the current times, however it was quite the opposite. A huge thank you to yourselves and the wonderful Newark community for supporting our charity.

"One of our women said: 'It’s overwhelming how generous people are and think of us'.”

Presents were also delivered to YMCA Newark and HUG – Help Us Grieve.