Generous NETA staff and delegates have once again been digging deep to help buy presents for children who might otherwise not have received anything this Christmas.
Every year the team donates whatever they can to help the Ellen Timney Foundation Christmas appeal deliver gifts to underprivileged children across the region.
This year, adding a little extra festive magic to the occasion, the team took to the road in Santa’s sleigh, after helping carry out a refurb of the vehicle, in preparation for its epic journey.
And they were Joined on their visit to local schools by Middlesbrough Football Club’s mascot, Roary the Lion.
NETA’s gas instructor Rob Hardy is vice chair of the Ellen Timney Foundation, a charity that helps sick and under privileged children across the North-east. He said: “The toys and gifts will mean so much to so many children. It is fantastic that each year the NETA team and delegates offer their support.”
Money collected at NETA was used to buy a selection of goodies for children of different ages and will now be handed out in primary schools to those youngsters who would otherwise go without.
Also helping spread the Christmas cheer, NETA’s young electrical engineers worked with joinery and painting and decorating students from Stockton Riverside College to give Santa’s sleigh a spruce up.
The sleigh, which is now in the care of the MFC Foundation, was originally built in 2011 by Stockton Riverside College students for Stokesley Round Table.
Since then, it has been spreading festive joy, transporting Santa and his elves around Teesside.
Ready for a refresh, NETA’s engineers gave the sleigh’s electrics a service, while the college’s joinery team carried out repairs, and painting and decorating students gave it a fresh coat of paint.
NETA Training’s interim managing director, Sean Johnston, added: “We were happy to lend a hand and to know that we are playing our small part in creating some festive magic.”
Alan Geddes, events and fundraising co-ordinator at MFC Foundation, said: “We are amazed and overwhelmed by the work the students have carried out, we never expected it to look this good. The sleigh has been given a whole new lease of life.”
To find out more about the Ellen Timney Foundation and ways you can help all year round, visit their Facebook page, and for details about the MFC Foundation visit: https://mfcfoundation.co.uk
