How a North East charity is helping kids see Santa this Christmas

A first for Mr Claus, his move to digital Christmas ambassador has been facilitated by Newcastle-based charity The Red Sky Foundation, who came up with the idea to make sure youngsters in the Freeman Hospital’s heart unit could still nab a chat with the big man, despite the lockdown restrictions. But the Red Sky Santa concept proved so popular that the charity has now rolled out the opportunity to other children across the North East – with a proportion of all money raised going straight back into the charity.

Throughout December, families can choose to book either a live, 10-minute video call with Father Christmas for £25, or a 5-minute pre-recorded message for £15, which can be fully personalised at the point of booking for up to two children. So now your little ones don’t have to miss out on one of the most magical moments of the festive season just because of the pandemic – Santa, along with his elves, reindeer and beautifully-designed grotto, can come to them.

But what began as a one-off fundraising event for the hospital that saved their daughter’s life turned into a charitable institution in its own right. Now The Red Sky Foundation has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds that have helped to buy vital equipment for hospitals across the North East, including the Freeman Hospital’s unique organ care transplant system. The charity also helped to fund a specialist Fontan Nurse post in the region – the first of its kind in the UK – and has facilitated the purchase of a large number of public-use defibrillators now situated in towns and city centres across the North East.