We’re making a difference for 300 children this Christmas with the Wrap for Jak
The annual Wrap for Jak returns to help disadvantaged children in South Tyneside.
Tony Fada has officially launched the 2025 Wrap for Jak as he once again looks to make Christmas morning special for disadvantaged children across South Tyneside.
The event was founded eight years ago after Tony’s ten-year-old son, Jak Fada, died from a ruptured heart artery on November 6, 2017 - the day after his grandfather, Jimmy Tomlin, had sadly died.
While the official verdict recorded by the Coroner was a ruptured artery, Tony has always stated that Jak “died of a broken heart”, after struggling to come to terms with Jimmy’s passing.
It was that Christmas that the grief-stricken family decided to focus on creating a meaningful and lasting legacy for Jak, something which has continued every year since.
More than 1,500 families across South Tyneside have been helped by the Wrap for Jak since it was founded and for 2025, it is set to make Christmas special for 300 children here in the borough.
Taking place at Hedworth Hall, on Dean Road, in South Shields, on Sunday, December 7, the event will see the community come together to wrap thousands of presents which will then be donated to various charitable organisations in South Tyneside.
These organisations will then pass them onto families who are struggling this Christmas.
Speaking ahead of the Wrap for Jak 2025, Tony said: “We’re getting excited now, we’ve got nine days left until the the Wrap for Jak event on December 7 at Hedworth Hall.
“I think we’re going to be helping around 300 children through six different organisations.
“So far we’ve done two massive shopping days and got loads of gifts in already but this is where the struggle starts, especially with things like bags to put the presents in.
“It was going to cost us £840 just for bags to deliver the gifts so if anyone has got some to donate then that would be a massive help.
“The Wrap for Jak is a need now, especially with the amount of families out there who are struggling - everyone is feeling it.
“So to be able to make a difference for 300 children on Christmas is unbelievable, we’ll be doing it till the day we die.”
It isn’t just children that the charity event is helping this Christmas, as Tony has pledged that there will be a donation of chocolates, biscuits and other treats to residents at the Harton Grange Care Home, on Boldon Lane.
If anyone has got any gift bags that they can donate to Tony and the Wrap for Jak, then you can reach other via their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/wrapforjak.