Acorns Children’s Hospice is calling on good girls and boys (of all ages) to get into the festive spirit and join Birmingham’s biggest ever Santa Run.
The Acorns Santa Run on Saturday 5 December will kick-start the festive season as hundreds of ‘dashers’ suit-up as Father Christmas for a Yuletide run around Birmingham City Centre.
Registration is now open for the popular fundraising event, which this year starts and finishes at the Barclaycard Arena, to support the charity and its work caring for life-limited and life-threatened children and their families across the West Midlands.
Shujea Khatun, major events officer at Acorns is hoping to see lots of Santa Clauses coming to town. She said:
Last year’s event was a really fun-filled festive day and this year we want it to be bigger, better and even more Christmassy. It’ll be a spectacular sight to see so many people rushing past in red-and-white, so come along; run, jog or stroll and help make this the best year yet!
All those entering will be given their very own fancy-dress Santa suits and participants can take part in a 5km Santa Run or there is a 2km Santa Stroll for those who want to take things slightly easier.
Entrants will also be given free entry to Birmingham Sea Life Centre following the event.
Shujea continued:
The children and young people Acorns looks after require specialist care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The fundraising and sponsorship raised from events like the Santa Run are absolutely vital to provide the support our children need, so join us and help make this an extra special Christmas for those we care for.
It costs Acorns almost £9 million per year to continue providing its specialist services, and the charity relies on fundraising from the public for the majority of that amount.
The event is generously sponsored by Western Power Distribution and supported by the Barclaycard Arena, which means money raised from sponsorship can go towards the care Acorns provides.
All routes are accessible for wheelchairs and pushchairs so the whole family can take part.
Entry is £15 for adults and £10 for under 16s and includes a Santa suit and a medal. Under 6s are free and although they cannot be given a Santa suit due to size restrictions, they can attend in their own festive fancy dress.
To sign up, visit www.acorns.org.uk/SantaRun call 01564 82 5000 or email events@acorns.org.uk