Festive selfie snappers have helped to raise a massive £2,000 for Blackburn’s Secret Santa mission.
Earlier this month, The Mall Blackburn launched an appeal to ask people to take pictures at its new selfie wall wearing their favourite Christmas Jumpers, with a donation being made to the Secret Santa community interest company for each one uploaded to its social media pages.
Following a flurry of super selfies management at the shopping centre presented Secret Santa bosses, Phil and Karen Boulding, with a £2,000 cheque which is being used to buy presents for more than 1,000 children.
The group has delivered bags of gifts to children in Blackburn and the surrounding areas since 2017.
This year is the first time Secret Santa has had a store after management at The Mall, who believe every child deserves a gift, offered the community group a unit to help during its busiest time!
Phil Boulding, Managing Director at Secret Santa, said: “What can I say – £2,000 is an absolutely amazing amount of money that we can do so much with this Christmas!
“We’ve seen lots of people taking selfies at the fabulous selfie wall and we have been checking social media every day to see the pictures.
“I would like to thank Loraine and her team for everything they have done for us this Christmas, it means a lot to us and has certainly made our jobs a lot easier.
“With just days until Christmas, we will be out delivering presents in our Secret Santa van so if you see us, make sure you give us a wave!”
Loraine Jones, General Manager at The Mall Blackburn, added: “We have loved seeing all the selfies being taken at our selfie wall and they have filled our social media pages with festive cheer!
“We were delighted to hand Phil a cheque for £2,000 and we know it will make a real difference to families in the area.
“It has been very humbling to see how hard Phil, Karen and their volunteers work and so heart-warming to see the generosity of the entire community.
“We believe that every child deserves a gift at Christmas and applaud everyone at Secret Santa for all their hard work.”
