The annual Scooter Selection Box Run took place on Sunday 4th December.
Norman Hunter and members of Scooter Clubs from across the area came together to take part in the long-established tradition for Children’s Services at Lancashire Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. They kindly collected hundreds of selection boxes, as well as toys and books for our young patients this Christmas.
This year’s run started at the Yew Tree in Walton le Dale, which opened early for refreshments, heading into Bamber Bridge, before going through Preston city centre, up Church Street, across the ring road, past Deepdale, across Blackpool Road then past Preston Barracks to the White Hart.
Lancashire Teaching Hospital Charity’s Fundraising Manager, Roya Armstrong, met members of the scooter clubs at the White Hart on Watling Street Road, Fulwood to collect the gifts and thank all the drivers for their support.
Norman said: “We’ve been doing it for more than 20 years now, one of lads from Preston Scooter Club, his wife used to work in the children’s clinic, and because kids were in hospital at Christmas, they decided to do a selection box run, and here we are all these years later.
“There is a club in Leyland, Preston and Chorley, and the selection box run brings them all together, so we can bring the gifts for the children.
“There were probably 70 or 80 of us, we all met up at the Yew Tree, and it was full of scooters – we couldn’t get any more on.
“It was freezing, you have to get wrapped up, but the smile on Roya’s face, seeing all the selection boxes we brought, the comments you get on Facebook from people who saw us going through town, it makes it all worthwhile. Some of the riders trim their bikes with tinsel, and there were a few Father Christmases, and some elves.
“I got a message from someone saying it was his first time on his own scooter, he used to come on the back of his dad’s – that keeps the tradition alive.”
Lancashire Teaching Hospital Charity’s Fundraising Manager, Roya Armstrong added “We’d like to say a huge thank you to Norman and everyone involved for supporting our hospitals once again this festive season. Their kindness and generosity is incredibly heart-warming. We’ve distributed the selection boxes across the children’s clinic, children’s ward, children’s A&E and children’s outreach clinics across both Chorley and Preston, and the reaction has been amazing from all the staff and patients.”