THOUSANDS of school children will be getting fit and ‘Elfie’ this Christmas whilst raising vital money for Winsford’s St Luke’s Hospice.

Schools, nurseries and pre-schools are once again being invited to sign up for an ‘Elf Run’ to raise funds for patient care at the hospice, which supports residents across Cheshire.

The festive fundraiser managed to raise an incredible £66,000 last year, with a total of 65 schools and 11,431 children taking part.

And this year the St Luke’s community fundraising team is hoping to do even better.

Angela Slack, St Luke’s community partnerships manager, said: “We were so grateful for the support of all the schools and nurseries that got involved with the Elf Run last year.

“They helped to make it one of our biggest fundraising events and we want to take it even further this year, with more schools and more children having fun and raising funds for their local hospice.

“We would also like to say a huge thank you to Mornflake for their continued backing of our Elf Run.

“Their kind support helps us to run this kind of event year after year which proves vital in enabling our nurses to continue to provide care to the community.”

Schools and nurseries are tasked with setting a day aside for ‘elf’ activities which could be anything from a one mile run or assault course, to a themed PE lesson.

St Luke’s provides all the materials for a fun-filled day, including elf hats and stickers, plus each participating school receives a Santa suit and ‘Elfie Selfie’ frames.

Once again, the Elf Run will be sponsored by Cheshire-based breakfast company Mornflake, which not only sponsors the event but also provides a tasty porridge pot to each child that takes part, promoting a healthy diet.

Angela added: “As well as benefitting the hospice, our Elf Run helps to promote a healthy, active lifestyle so it’s a perfect partnership with Mornflake as a large local employer renowned for championing health and wellbeing from a young age.”

To host an Elf Run contact the St Luke’s Community Team on 01606 555697 or community@slhospice.co.uk for an information pack.