To celebrate the festive season while acknowledging the challenging nature of 2020, Central West Shopping Centre, owned by ISPT, will be collaborating with the local community to create a bespoke Christmas installation – The Star Project.
The Centre is calling on locals, community groups, schools, care centres and charity organisations to band together by decorating Christmas stars that will fill the ceilings of Central West in time for Christmas. The stars will symbolise the hope, resilience, and perseverance that the community has shown in 2020.
The Centre asks for a word or two be included on the star that describes the special feelings, thoughts and skills that they have relied on during the year such as ‘hope’, ‘family’, ‘resilience’ or even ‘chocolate’ or a pet ‘Max’.
Locals can get involved by collecting a star from a range of essential stores in the Centre, the Centre Management Office, or in one of the Centre’s school holiday take-home packs. If part of a larger group, customers can request for the stars to be mailed out. Once finished, the decorated Christmas stars can be returned to the Centre Management drop off zone by October 19, ready for display on the third week of November.
In addition to The Star Project, Central West will be creating a Community Cookbook filled with favourite Christmas recipes of the community. All proceeds will be donated to the 300 Blankets Soul Kitchen, a local charity at the Braybrook Community Hub. Soul Kitchen aims to provide nutritious food and address social isolation by developing a positive and safe community for individuals and families at risk of experiencing homelessness.
Speaking about the launch of The Star Project, Central West marketing manager, Gabriella Bowman said, “By anyone’s measure, 2020 has been a tough year. Central West is excited to launch The Star Project to acknowledge the people who’ve helped local businesses and shoppers get through tough times and keep smiling. We look forward to giving Christmas a little extra boost of gratitude and sparkle.”