This “Mad Friday” - December 19 - if you were out in Hebden Bridge, Todmorden or Littleborough you would probably have a seen a bunch of very glamorous Santas, collecting on behalf of Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice in memory of little local boy Jake Booth.
The ladies from Royle Event Management & Promotion and Halo Boutique joined forces to have one sparkly, fun and successful evening!
Donning some skimpy red Santa outfits along with Jo Royle were Emma Bonny, Jade Lund, Amy McWhir and Jez Culley the elf, helping them to get around from one town to another, with the amazing Halo Boutique ladies Louise Routledge, Charlotte Routledge, Rosie Routledge and Katie Constable.
They managed to raise £557.50 for Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice in memory of Jake and want to thank the amazing public response.
Jo said: “It was hard work but so lovely to go into each and every pub, bar and club from Hebden, Littleborough and then Todmorden. We met so many people and every establishment welcomed us in with enthusiasm to allow us to collect money from the public.
“The public were amazing, giving their money and talking to us about little Jake, his family and how amazing they are coping. There is a mountain of love out there for the Booth family. It was an honour to try to help the charity that helped Jake and his family so much. We can do things like this - raise money and give something back in Jakes honour.”
Louise Routledge owner at Halo Boutique, Todmorden, said: “We had a great night for a truly worthwhile cause and were overwhelmed by the Christmas cheer and friendliness of the people we met.”
Jake, who was six, sadly died last year just before Christmas, from a rare disease called Batten. Batten is a brain wasting disease that makes the affected person regress, losing all their skills such as walking, talking, eating, hearing and seeing.
Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice supports children with life limiting conditions, and their families.
Jo said: “If you were out on Mad Friday and generously donated money in our buckets, you have helped this amazing place of care to families who could not manage without them. These funds will help other people who are facing what the Booth family faced.”
She added: I want to thank all the Sexy Santas – they made a huge effort and I am really proud of them and so glad we all did it together, to try and help our friends Jo and Joel at this unbelievably tough time.”