IT may not even be Halloween yet but Christmas has come early for Stagecoach Oxfordshire and Oxford Tube staff.

Twenty staff are getting ready for the Santas on the Run event to raise money for East Oxford children’s hospice Helen & Douglas House.

There is room for 1,700 people to take part in the December 14 run, the eighth the hospice will have run, and almost 700 spaces have already gone.

Karen Coventry, business development manager at Stagecoach, said: “I am really excited about taking part in my first Santas on the Run and getting together with colleagues from Stagecoach to do something completely different for an excellent cause to get us all into the Christmas spirit.

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“We are so delighted to be supporting Helen & Douglas House.

“It does such amazing work for children, young adults and their families who have such a tough time.

“We know Christmas can be particularly difficult for these families so are glad we can help by entering a team to take part in Santas on the Run to raise money to help them.”

The run is just the latest in a string of fundraising events for Helen & Douglas House, as Stagecoach Oxfordshire staff chose to support the hospice as the firm’s charity partner for a year. In July the Get on Board! appeal was launched and has already raised more than £2,500 for the hospice.

That has paid for a vibro-acoustic waterbed for the sensory room at the newly-refurbished Helen House.

Corporate partnerships account manager Aimie Edwards said: “We are thrilled that the team at Stagecoach Oxfordshire and the Oxford Tube have shown such enthusiasm in supporting us by signing up a team for Santas on the Run as part of their partnership with us.

“This year we are expecting more teams than ever to get into the festive spirit and run together in aid of Helen & Douglas House, whether they are from local companies, schools, churches or friends and family.”

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