South Shields charity delighted with support shown by town as it reopens for December

The Charlie and Carter Foundation, which has its shop on Denmark Street, began operating again after on Wednesday, December 2, as the second 2020 national lockdown was lifted and South Tyneside entered the Tier 3 local lockdown system.

Shop manager, Joanne Nicholson, told The Gazette that the team at the shop were ‘excited’ to reopen and were looking forward to seeing some old faces in the store again, as well as hopefully some new ones.

“We’ve been inundated with donations since people have found out we’re reopening,” she said.

“We’re so happy to be getting going again. All the contributions and messages of support on social media have given us an extra boost going into December.

"We rely on this kind of support, being a charity, and we couldn’t do what we do without the goodwill of people in the town.”

The charity provides financial support to the parents of seriously ill children with life-limiting conditions, having been set up on the back of South Shields couple Sarah and Christopher Cookson’s tragic experiences with the health of their two late sons.

The couple faced heartache when their first son, Charlie, was born with a mystery condition and spent a huge amount of his short life in hospital, before he died aged just two.

Then the couple's joy of becoming parents again has turned to heartache as second son, Carter, died from heart problems.

As a number of shops reopened when the second lockdown ended, Ms Nicholson added: "People are a bit apprehensive at the moment because it’s the first day of lockdown ending.

"Hopefully as the days go on, people will start venturing out a little more. People have got to do their Christmas shopping and not everyone does it online. So hopefully some do come down here and spend some of their pennies.

"South Shields has always been an amazing supporter of the Charlie and Carter Foundation. So, if you are out and about and you want to grab a bargain, please pop in. It would be nice to see people.”

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