Wigan father and two daughters complete santa 5k in aid of charity

James Weir, 43, from Standish decided to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease Association following his mother’s diagnosis earlier this year.

While helping his parents organise and attend appointments he noticed that a lot of material provided was from the charity which focuses on improving access to care, research and campaigning for those living or affected by MND.

The charity also provides financial support in the form of grants which can provide support for additional living costs such as food shopping or bills.

The trust helps make access to equipment considerably easier by loaning items to those in need, this could be due to statutory services such as the NHS being unable to supply or being placed on a waiting list.

James said: “There’s not a great deal we can do as the disease is currently incurable, but we thought the least we could do is to raise money for a brilliant charity – all those affected would be struggling a lot more without their work.

"While we haven’t raised as much as other fund-raisers it’s still amazing to be able to do our bit.”

One of the many fund-raising methods that the charity has is a virtual Santa run, which allows flexibility for when and where participants decide to participate

With an original target of £250, this was quickly surpassed on James’s ustgiving page, which has currently raised over £800 including gift aid.

Daughters Lydia and Isla Weir also said that they wanted to play their part in boosting the coffers of the trust and so they joined in.

James said: “It was more us slipping around for 5k rather than running it! We also got some funny looks as people asked us what we were doing but everyone was so supportive. It’s the least we can do for what is a great cause.

"I’ve never fund-raised before but I’ll probably get involved in something similar next year as there’s a variety of different virtual events.”

Donations can stll be made at James’ justgiving page.

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