'Tis the season of goodwill, a time when most of us will blow a large part of our monthly wages on parties and presents - so what better time to do some fundraising than when people are at their most benevolent?

Even better if you can make thee fundraising festive, and that's exactly what AC Hoylake U9 girls team did earlier this month.

How the Hoylake Santa Dash was born

A few weeks ago, at a particularly cold training session, U9s coach Danny Williams got talking to the assembled parents about raising some funds to get the girls some extra training gear to keep them warm.

One idea that really caught our imagination was to get the girls to do a sponsored 1k run, and as the idea was discussed further, it was suggested that, given the time of year, it would be good to kit the runners out in Father Christmas outfits, and make it a Santa Dash.

And so the first (possibly of many) AC Hoylake Santa Dash was born.

Festive fundraising hits the jackpot

To kick things off, Laura, Danny's assistant coach, drew up and distributed some sponsorship forms, before setting a course for the Santas to dash through.

On the day of the run, over 20 of the team and their families took part, and Danny is keen to thank the great set of parents who have supported the team and the club - both he, and everyone at AC Hoylake is grateful for all they do for the team (and we couldn't do any of this without the kind help of parents and volunteers).

The aim was to raise about £300 to cover some warm gear for the girls, but it looks like they're going to hit the £1,000 mark - a tremendous effort!

We'd like to congratulate everyone involved - and wish everyone a very happy Christmas.

If you have any ideas to raise funds for AC Hoylake, check out AC Hoylake Needs YOU, or get in touch Paul at paul.williams@achoylake.com