A Leeds man has lit his house with Christmas lights this year to raise money for a local charity after they helped a close family member who suffered with cancer.
Jeff Norman, from Alwoodley in Leeds, is raising money for Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice in Headingley who helped his wife's sister in the last year of her life before she died of cancer. The Leeds dad will decorate his home with Christmas lights to raise money.
The Christmas light display at his home features thousands of multi-coloured LED lights, inflatables and projections, and is open over the festive period for people to come along to help raise vital funds.
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Jeff said: "My wife Debra’s sister, Paula, was sadly diagnosed with cancer about a year ago and she received the most wonderful care at Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice before she died in August.
“As we have directly experienced the fantastic dedication and support provided by the hospice, it is a cause that is very close to our hearts and we wanted to fundraise for them this year to say thank you and give back.”
It takes Jeff around a week to prepare the Christmas light fundraiser at his home at 2 The Drive, Allwoodley, which has raised around £4,000 for local charities since it started.
He said: “It all started because we used to put up a few Christmas lights for my daughter growing up. We have a little fir tree in the garden which we used to decorate, but it kept escalating every year, to the point that our neighbours started saying ‘you are going to put your lights up this year aren’t you?’”
“I thought that it would be great if we could start doing it to raise some money for local charities, and we’ve been doing that now for eight or nine years. During the pandemic we also put the lights up extra early and kept them going well into January to brighten everyone’s spirits.
“It’s become a bit of a cult thing locally and we have cars that come past and beep their horns and people have been really generous over the years. We’ve also had people who have kindly donated items for the display – including two huge reindeer which are now a focal point!”
Last year Jeff’s Christmas lights raised £950 and he hopes to smash the £1,000 mark this Christmas.
The display will be open until Friday, January 6, 3.15pm - 10.15pm each evening. All donations from visitors will go directly to the charity. You can donate via JustGiving at justgiving.com/page/jeff-norman-1669888120245.
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