Byron Highton is Preston's very own Santa delivering donated gifts to Children in Need
Byron Highton is Preston's very own Santa delivering donated gifts to Children in Need.
Transcript
00:00 Yes, this is the second year in a row, the JJ Effect Christmas Gift Appeal.
00:04 Last year we ended up giving away over £4,000 worth of Xboxes, Playstations, money, toys, gifts, you name it,
00:11 to children in need which I actually deliver myself on Christmas Day.
00:15 This year I'm going to be doing it dressed as Father Christmas.
00:17 And the type of children we help are kids that are in poverty,
00:21 they might have unfortunate circumstances at home,
00:25 or they might have illnesses along the lines of cancer and they might be just fighting the battle of whatever illness that is.
00:33 So this is the second year in a row you're doing this, so why do you do it?
00:36 I love it, I love it. It's a bit about the JJ Effects, you know when I do the knife crime stuff,
00:41 it's not just about knife crime to me, I actually like helping people, it's a bit of an addiction,
00:45 an addiction that I like and when I gave the presents out last year,
00:50 I got far more from that than I ever have done doing anything to do with knife crime.
00:55 And even though you think knife crime would be a bit more close to home to me, which it is,
00:58 I think it's because I do it full time, that's just the way it is,
01:01 but because this is just a once a year thing and you're helping kids that,
01:05 you know, nobody wants their kids to be fighting terminal cancer or whatever illness it may be,
01:10 putting a smile on their face was just, honestly, it was like winning the lottery.
01:14 And do you want to tell me a little bit about the JJ Effect and why we're here?
01:17 Yeah, so this is my brother's grave. The JJ Effect is one of the UK's leading anti-knife crime charities
01:23 that I run and I created and it's all based upon my brother's life,
01:28 John Joe Highton, who was sadly killed in 2014 and now his legacy is,
01:32 for over the last 10 years, has spiralled into thousands, hundreds of thousands of people's lives
01:37 and now obviously we get to do things like this every year as well.
01:40 And what can people do to help you?
01:42 So there's going to be a link to the Just Giving, so you can donate as much as you want,
01:47 whether it's a pound or ten pound or whatever, it all goes to a good cause.
01:51 Once we withdraw the money, we'll go straight into town or wherever we're going and buy the gifts
01:56 that will go direct to the children on Christmas Day,
01:59 so anyone watching the JJ Effect pages or following them can see where their money has gone.
02:03 Also, they could contact me via the JJ Effect website or my personal Facebook,
02:10 it's easy to find, Byron JJ Effect Highton or the JJ Effect Facebook page
02:14 and they can donate things like Xboxes, Playstations, toys, unwanted gifts or anything they want.
02:19 And why is it so important that you do this year on the end?
02:22 I mean, there's plenty of people doing this, but I've got to be honest, I'm always honest, it's a bit selfish.
02:28 I love this, so as much as I get to help other people, which is absolutely brilliant,
02:34 and there is many kids out, I mean, we can only help a few kids, I wish I could help everyone,
02:38 but at the same time, it's good for me as well, and it's all a part of my healing process,
02:43 all a part of what I do for my brother, and if I can be happy and make other people happy at the same time,
02:49 then I'm just going to keep doing it.