Cherry Burton Pre-School are making plans to invest in new educational equipment and toys for their children this week after a dad of two raised £1,000 for them, running the Great North Run on his birthday.
Andy Minors handed over the whopping sum at a special cheque presentation on March 11, after completing the challenging half marathon back in September 2012 – on his 42nd birthday.
Cherry Burton Pre-School is a registered charity run by a voluntary management committee, which means there often isn’t any spare cash to pay for new equipment and toys, so the £1,000 donation by Andy has received a warm welcome by both the staff and children.
Claire Newton, manager at Cherry Burton Pre-School, said: “We can’t thank Andy enough for his generosity and we are honoured that he chose to run the Great North Run to raise money for us. Any educational equipment we need at the pre-school has to be fundraised for by us, so receiving such a large sum of cash is fantastic – we can finally invest in some new toys, but first on the list is a new play kitchen!
“We actually had a clear-out of our stock room last week and having this money meant that we were able to get rid of toys that we’ve kept hold of for years. We’ve already got a list as long as my arm for their replacements!” added Claire.
Andy Minors said: “Both of my children have been to Cherry Burton Pre-School, my youngest Ethan is still there, and all of the staff are so dedicated to the children and their development - they do such a great job!
“It’s so rewarding to be able to hand over money that I know will make a huge difference to both the children and the staff at the pre-school – it makes all the hard work and training for the Great North Run worth it.”