Santa’s found himself a Big helper
A PAIR of charity heroes who walked the route of the Great North Run in icy conditions say they want every child and parent to have something to smile about on Christmas morning.
Fundraiser Colin Burgin-Plews, wearing an elfish red-and-green version instead of his trademark Big Pink Dress, was joined by Steve Green – dressed as Santa – on a 13.1-mile trek to pick up toys for disadvantaged children whose parents would not be able to afford them.
Setting off at 7am, the duo ended up in South Shields three-and-ahalf hours later with a sack full of surprises for charities Laffs 4 Kids and Cash for Kids.
And Steve, who has previously walked the Durham Heritage Coast for charity, said growing up with a single mum, who struggled during the festive season, was what inspired him to help families in need.
Steve, 42, who lives in Wingate, County Durham, said: “I don’t want kids to not get presents or parents to have to be stressed about it.
“My mum brought me up as a single parent, we always had something at Christmas but it was never a lot, and I saw my mum really upset because she couldn’t get us very much.
“It upset me that my mum couldn’t do that for us. It’s great to do this for disadvantaged kids. “The way I’ve been trying to push it is that it doesn’t have to cost a lot to put a smile on a kid’s face at Christmas. “But it’s really for the parents as well, because they shouldn’t feel that they can’t get their kids something for Christmas. It should be the one day of the year when every single person should be able to forget their troubles and kick back and relax. “A couple of years ago my wife and I went to a comedy night where the price of admission was bringing a toy for a kid, which I thought was a cracking idea. “Colin does a lot of fundraising things and he suggested walking the Great North Run route. “We’ve been sharing a couple of things on Facebook and trying to get as much fundraising as possible, and it’s just snowballed. “We’ve received over £800 in cash donations on the route and we’ve managed to collect over 80 toys today. “We finished about 11.30 in South Shields. It was absolutely fantastic the support we were getting, the people of the North East are just amazing. “Two 6’5” blokes with dresses and Santa costumes, it’s not something you see every day. Originally I hadn’t thought about wearing any outfit but Christmas is what this is all about. “It’s something that’s really going to make a kid’s day at Christmas. “There’s some kids who would literally have nothing, that shouldn’t be in this day and age.”
The way I’ve been trying to push it is that it doesn’t have to cost a lot to put a smile on a kid’s face at Christmas Steve Green