A familiar Santa beard is about to be chopped off……for charity.
Peter Love, who grows his beard every year for Santa duties, is to hold a sponsored whiskers shave off next month to raise funds for the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity.
Peter, a member of Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club, appears on the sleigh every Christmas when Santa himself is too busy, to bring joy to those young and not so young.
He said: “I enjoy growing my beard to be a stand-in for Santa when riding on the sleigh because I believe it adds so much more authenticity to the character. “In the past I have frequently been asked the question: false or real? – and I am always so pleased to be able to prove ‘real’. Being Santa’s assistant during coronavirus has meant this has not been possible when out on the sleigh but when I was ‘Santa’ at the Grange Primary School in Shrewsbury my elf was allowed to prove to the children I was as hairy as the big man.
I feel it makes such a big difference and growing my own beard then allows me to have it shaved off for charity which I have now done for more years than I can remember. I have chosen Midlands Air Ambulance Charity for my latest shave off because it is an organisation, without government funding, that we really cannot do without. I hope people will give generously.”
Donations can be made to Peter Love’s beard shave through Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club www.shrewsburyrotary.co.uk
