Jon Cruddas MP for Dagenham and Rainham held his sixth annual Christmas Card Competition Prize Event last Friday at the Dagenham Civic Centre. The Council Chamber was transformed into Santa's Grotto ? and was full of presents which this year for the winners and runners up included some fantastic gifts! All the prizes were presented in front of a packed chamber by Jon Cruddas MP and Father Christmas.
Daniel Moorey, age 6 from Brady Primary School in Rainham who designed the winning card chose his own prize and received a Nintendo 3DS XL and also receives a £50 gift card which was part of West Ham's generous donation this year. The winner also gets a goody bag and balloon.
This year the two runners up were Antonina Debkowska from class 5R Warren Junior School, Dagenham, who chose a brand new 24" Avigo Rose Suspension Bike and receives a £50 Tesco voucher and £50 West Ham voucher along with a goody bag and balloon. Mia McCaffrey aged 5 from LaSalette Catholic Primary School, Rainham chose a RAZOR E-90 Electric Scooter and gets a £50 Waterstones voucher along with £50 West Ham voucher, goody bag and balloon.
As with previous years Trinity School, the only SEN school in the borough had a winner and runner up who chose a remote-controlled Ford Raptor, and a Tonka Fire Engine toy.
The winners and runners up from each school were congratulated with certificates and goody bags including £10 cinema voucher, £10 toy shop voucher, the latest Disney DVD, Christmas chocolates, a Dagenham and Redbridge FC teddy bear, and a copy of the winning card.
All of the kids also get two tickets to a Dagenham and Redbridge FC home game this season, a balloon, and a copy of the winning card.
The school of the winner receive two tickets to West Ham vs Hull to be raffled for free, and ADD+UP, a local charity that entered this year receive a tour for four at West Ham's London Stadium.
The school with the most entries; William Bellamy also won a meal for two which was kindly donated by Kusadasi Taverna in Rainham and a £50 West Ham voucher to be raffled in the school.
The winning card will also be the official Christmas card for Jon Cruddas MP and will be sent out to the Shadow Cabinet, and 3,000 of Jon's helpers, volunteers and prominent members of the community.
Jon Cruddas said: "six years on and the event has got bigger and better! We start organising the competition during the summer every year, and events like this make all the effort worth it. I am so pleased to see lots of schools taking part for the first time, as well as many new businesses supporting the competition. The winner this year was exceptional but as always it was a tough decision with so many quality entries from our talented young people."
Jon's staff added: "This event is a real pleasure to organise, and it is the highlight of the year! It grows every year and this year was brilliant. Big thank you to all those that took part, or sponsored the competition."
Schools this year included: Marks Gate Junior School, Marks Gate Infants School, Scargill Infants School, Rush Green Primary School, Trinity School, Rainham Village Primary School, Parsonage Farm Primary School, Newtons Primary School, Marsh Green Primary School, The Leys Primary School, John Perry Primary School, Add+Up, Beam Primary School, Thomas Arnold Primary School, Whybridge Junior School, Five Elms Primary School, William Ford Junior School, LaSalette Primary School, Warren Junior School, Brady Primary School, William Bellamy Primary School.
Businesses that sponsored this year: Dagenham and Redbridge FC, West Ham United, Southern Housing Group, Rainham Steel, Mullaley, Nicholas James Pawnbroker and Jeweller, RCIB Right Choice Insurance Brokers, West and Coe, London City Airport, Elevate, GMB B10 Branch, Thompsons Solicitors, C2C Rail, Tesco, Londoneast-UK, Port of London Authority, Unite the Union Dagenham Ford Branch, Barking and Dagenham NUT, Oakleafe, Kusadasi Taverna, and Dagenham and Rainham Labour Party