A County Durham charity has partnered with a housing association to run its annual festive-themed event.

Thousands of children are expected to take part in the Reindeer Run, a fundraising event for St Cuthbert's Hospice in Durham.

St Cuthbert's Hospice announced the event is being sponsored by Believe Housing.

Jill Ancrum, marketing and communications manager at Believe Housing said: "St Cuthbert’s Hospice is a special place and, with 18,000 homes in and around County Durham and more than 600 employees, we know how valued it is in our region.

"Last year we joined the hospice’s 88 Club and are delighted to step up our support in 2024 by sponsoring this year’s Reindeer Run.

"We hope everyone taking part has lots of fun and that, once again, it raises awareness and money to support the hospice’s vital work."

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The Reindeer Run invites schools, nurseries, and groups to pick a date in December and hold a sponsored walk, run, wheel, or skip over a distance and route that suits them.

Participants can also come up with their own fun sponsored activities, such as a sponsored PE lesson, festive obstacle course, or dance-a-thon.

Each child taking part receives a free pair of reindeer antlers, and the school gets an event pack including sponsorship forms, certificates, and Christmas resources and activities.

Over the last three years, the festive runs have raised more than £50,000 to help the hospice continue to provide free care and support to people with life-limiting illnesses, people approaching the end of life, and people that are bereaved.

Erin Wright, community fundraiser at St Cuthbert’s Hospice, said: "We’re so pleased that Believe Housing is supporting our Reindeer Run this year, they’re helping us to spread the word about this fun and festive event throughout their community, and we can’t thank them enough.

"We can’t wait to see all of the schools in our region get involved."