Norah's North Pole and the incredible Christmas story of a Sunderland gran

The legacy of an incredible Sunderland grandmother is set to live on this Christmas.

Norah Wilkinson, who lived in Newcastle Road, hated the thought of any child not getting a gift for Christmas.

30,000 Santa sacks and counting

For years, she took her 7 children and 14 grandchildren to the shops just before December 25.

She would give them £10 each and tell them to buy something special for other youngsters who would have nothing on Christmas Day.

She died in 2015 aged 92 but her legacy lives on - through Norah's relatives who were always taught to think of others.

Each year, they make up sacks filled with surprises for thousands of children throughout the North East.

'That moment when a child wakes and knows Santa didn't forget them'

And this year, you can help support them.

The family set up a campaign called Norah's North Pole which has been running for 8 years. It has given out 30,000 Santa sacks since it started and helped thousands of children.

It gets bigger every year and Norah's granddaughter Sarah Imrie is one of the family members who is running it in 2023.

'Grandma lived by the motto that it's nice to be nice'

She said the Christmas gift of giving is a 'tradition in our family'.

She added: "Each year, our hearts break as we hear stories of children within our own community, living in such sad circumstances.

"We can make a difference, even if it is only for that moment on Christmas morning when the child wakes up knowing Santa has not forgotten them.

"Our Grandma lived by the motto “It’s nice to be nice”. Her world revolved around her children and grandchildren and she hated the thought of a child going without at Christmas."

Sarah added: "Norah's North Pole is not a charity. We are just a family who are committed to making a difference.

How you can help this year

"Each night in December we collect and sort donations to prepare for a monumental packing weekend on December 16 and 17, before distributing our Santa sacks to the children and families most in need." People can back Norah's North Pole in one of three ways;

By donating to the Amazon Wish List at https://bit.ly/NNP2023WishList

Donating to the GoFundMe page https://bit.ly/NNPGoFundMe2023

Or by collecting gift donations for Norah’s North Pole within your organisation and dropping them off at one of the family North East collection points.

For more information, visit the website at www.NorahsNorthPole.co.uk