This is the most inspiring story I've heard - the Sunderland grandmother who truly had Xmas in her heart

The Norah’s North Pole project, which was set up in memory of Norah Wilkinson, who lived in Newcastle Road, will hand over its 500,000th present this year.

Norah’s legacy lives on

Norah hated the thought of any child not getting a gift for Christmas.

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.

You can help before the deadline

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

The hope is that this year they can surpass previous records and are now encouraging people to help ahead of the final deadline this Friday, December 12.

The team is encouraging people to buy gifts locally wherever possible – so helping the region’s economy at the same time – and there are a range of drop off points across the region along with an Amazon wish list.

People can also donate cash via the GoFundMe page, where all money raised will be spend on buying toys for young people.

‘The thought of a child waking up on Christmas morning with nothing, wondering why Santa visited their friends but not them, is simply heartbreaking’

Norah’s North Pole works with head teachers, social workers, refuges and local authorities to ensure that no child misses out on waking up to a gift on Christmas morning.

Victoria Imrie Bell, one of Norah’s grandchildren praised the generosity of all of the people who had helped over the years.

“Reaching our 10th anniversary and packing our 500,000th present is something we are incredibly proud of and we know our grandma, Norah, would be too,” she said.

“The thought of a child waking up on Christmas morning with nothing, wondering why Santa visited their friends but not them, is simply heartbreaking.

Help children to feel the magic of Christmas

“If Norah’s North Pole can bring people together to create a little hub of happiness and send out kindness to these children, then together we are changing more than just Christmas morning. We are showing them that someone cares.”

Once the gifts are collected an army of helpers get together for the annual packing weekend, where they are put in Santa sacks and then distributed.

The stories shared by Norah’s North Pole are always anonymised and shared only in small snippets, reflect the often unimaginable situations many local children are living through.

How you can get involved

“Norah’s North Pole is not charity. It is simply a family, working full time alongside this mission, determined to honour their grandma’s legacy and make sure as many children as possible feel the magic of Christmas,” Victoria added.

Anyone wanting to help ahead of the deadline can do so via the following ways-

Donate gifts from the Amazon list and have them delivered directly to the elves at Norah's North Pole HQ - https://bit.ly/AmazonNNP2025

Donate to via the GoFundMe page - https://bit.ly/NNP2025

Drop off gift donations to one of the drop off points – please ensure they are new toys.To find out a list of the drop off points around the North East visit www.norahsnorthpole.co.uk