A kind stranger delivered a Christmas surprise to a child who asked, “How will Santa find me?” after becoming homeless in Cardiff. On Sunday, Christmas Eve, Shane Yerrell, 40, traveled across the UK to present eight-year-old Marcel and his mother Sarah Struck with Christmas presents and £700 in crowdfunding donations.

Sarah, 42, and Marcel, who has learning difficulties, were evicted from their rented flat in Cardiff when the landlord sold it and, with nowhere to go, Cardiff City Council recently moved them to a luxury hotel room. three months. This means they spend their holidays, including Christmas, in a small apartment. They appeared in a BBC Wales documentary, where Sarah, a widowed mother, recalled her son asking: “How will Santa find me if I have nowhere to live?”

He added: “No child should have to say that. “They don’t have to worry about Christmas and whether they’re going to get presents or not.” It was also heard in the documentary that Marcel didn’t really understand why they lived in the hotel and was having difficulty adapting. “He doesn’t really sleep much because at night he wakes up very scared by the knocks and people walking around the hotel. He wakes up saying, ‘I don’t like the dark’ and screaming,” Sarah said. he told the BBC.

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Marcel was very happy with his Christmas presents.

Shane, who is mayor of Waltham Abbey in Essex and also works at a care home, was so moved by the story he launched a JustGiving fundraiser for the couple. He contacted Sarah on social media to let her know she wanted to help them and the two have been talking ever since.

On Christmas Eve, he took a long train journey to Cardiff to meet the mother and son and give the boy the money and some Christmas presents. Some of the gifts are from Shane himself, but most are from his friend Ben Jones, a boxer who raises funds for Children in Need and who also wanted to help with a surprise for Marcel. Get the best experience with the WalesOnline Premium app Litter any Android

Marcel smiled from ear to ear after receiving the gifts and Sarah told WalesOnline the act of kindness was “overwhelming”. “We are completely unknown, [Shane has] “He’s never met me in his life… I think it’s very generous of him to do something like this,” he said.



Sarah and Marcel have been living in a Cardiff hotel for just over three months after being evicted from their flat

She added that she was “deeply moved by people’s generosity” during the fundraiser. “I was worried that Marcel would have a bad Christmas due to the circumstances, but this year he will have a great Christmas thanks to the people who donated. “I’m so grateful from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much,” she said.

“I am so grateful for how much goodness there is in this world. I did [BBC] documentary to raise awareness of the situation and how the council thinks it’s okay for Marcel to stay in a small room with his extra needs.’

Shane said: “When I met him [BBC documentary], I find this heartbreaking. Many of my friends said the same thing. I don’t believe anyone should be homeless, but especially a child with learning difficulties should be. The fact that they lived in the same room made me feel sorry for them. I know there is a housing shortage, but being in that situation is difficult at any time, but especially before Christmas. I just wanted to help; “You don’t need to know someone to make a difference or help them in their struggle.” For the latest Cardiff news, sign up to our newsletter here



boy and man with christmas gift
Shane Hand donated several gifts along with £700 in crowdfunding donations

He added that it was “cool” to give gifts and money to the family. “I’m glad Sarah let me meet them and entrusted me with fundraising. Obviously, people can be suspicious when you don’t know someone and don’t help.”

This isn’t the first time Shane has raised funds for strangers in need. He started fundraising in 2011 and his first challenge was to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Fundraising quickly became a “passion” for Shane, and he continued to raise money for various causes and people in need, including the Rob Knox Foundation and the James Bulger Memorial Fund. “If I have time to plan, I will do my homework, otherwise the crowdfunding page can be created in 20 minutes; Due to the situation in Marseille, it was urgent,” he explained.

To date, he has raised £194,000 and taken on a series of “crazy” challenges to inspire people to donate, including abseiling, shaving his head, half marathons and climbing the Great Wall of China. Over the years he has set up his own charity, Through The Fight Foundation, which helps people with illnesses, disabilities or terminal illnesses, victims of crime or violence, and has been awarded the Pride of Essex award. and the British Citizen Award.

“I’ve had difficulties in the past, so I want to help people overcome their difficulties,” he said. “I just can’t deal with it. I have a certain passion for helping people. A lot of times when you do this to strangers, people are a little skeptical at first and I think that’s right, and I’ve been called a fraud before… it’s good to show that you’re real.’



A boy and a man with a gift.
Shane has been fundraising for various causes and people since 2011 and says it is a “passion”.

Commenting on Sarah and Marcel’s temporary hotel accommodation, a Cardiff City Council spokesperson said: “We understand that no one wants to live in temporary accommodation at Christmas or any other time. But with a housing emergency in Cardiff, an unprecedented number of people needing our help and our temporary accommodation at full capacity, we need the hotels we use to meet this huge demand.

“We recognize that hotels do not offer the same amenities as our temporary accommodation and we are working hard to reduce the time families spend in hotels before moving to more suitable temporary accommodation or a more permanent solution. Just yesterday, nine new modular homes in our innovative temporary housing development on the site of a former gasworks in Grangetown were ready for occupation, and today nine families begin moving in before Christmas.

“To help alleviate the current crisis as quickly as possible, we will acquire and convert a new commercial property in the city center into 84 family apartments, as well as continuing to roll out our modular homes, like the gas building, we will deliver another 350 new “objects”.