Little Santas give 2,500 gifts to people in need

Four friends have gathered thousands of presents to give to struggling families and children who may have gone without.

Thea and Laurie, from Kingswood Parks Primary School in Hull, and Ava and Phoebe, from Kingswood Academy, have called themselves the Santa Squad.

They have been fundraising and collecting donations since the summer and have collected more than 2,500 gifts for organisations to hand out to more than 900 people in poverty.

Laurie, 10, said: "It makes me feel really happy, but it also makes me feel quite sad that we need to do this."

The group was founded by Ava, 11, and her sister, Thea, 10, in 2022, after they saw an advert about child poverty on television.

Ava added: "I'm finally doing something for people and I feel really proud of myself because of it."

During the first year of the scheme, the Santa Squad gave gifts to 100 people, rising to 183 last year, which was also when friends Phoebe and Laurie joined the team.

This year, they have helped 912 people, with each gift bag containing three to five items.

The fundraising events have included bake sales and raffles to raise money for the toys, games, books, toiletries and food needed.

They were also named as finalists at the BBC Radio Humberside Make A Difference awards in September.

Phoebe, 11, is already planning for next year's fundraising.

She said: "For the build-up, we'll be doing different stalls and maybe a sponsored walk again."

Thea added: "It'll definitely be bigger and better."

Ava and Thea's mum, Beki, said she could not describe how proud she is of them for their efforts.

She said: "The compassion and genuine joy they get from helping others is heartwarming.

"I'm not sure they fully understand what an awesome and awe-inspiring thing it is that they are doing."

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