You've done it! Readers raise £21,000 in seven days!

By [fsalter]

THANK you!

Exactly one week ago, we challenged you to raise £21,000 before the end of October to send poorly children from North East Lincolnshire to Lapland.

Today, that target has been well and truly smashed.

Not only have you raised enough to pay for 70 seats at £300 a time, thousands more pounds have come into the Grimsby Telegraph.

Just yesterday, more than £11,000 was given to the appeal in six hours.

Grimsby-based mum and daughter Pat and Joanne Wright, who run the When You Wish Upon A Star charity, have been overwhelmed by the response.

"We know there is not a lot of money around at the moment and it is so heartwarming that people would do this," said Pat.

"We have been absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity of the people of the area."

As well as the annual trip to take children to meet the real Father Christmas, Pat and Joanne work hard to make individual wishes come true throughout the year.

"Those wishes have been on hold at the minute so that we could focus on the Lapland trip," said Joanne.

"Any more money that comes in will be used to give those other children their wishes. Some of those need to be done very quickly, because a doctor may say they have a one-month window in which we can take them away.

"Lapland is not for everyone and we receive lots of other wishes for things like special equipment, or trips to Florida or EuroDisney."

The success in Grimsby has also been mirrored at our sister newspapers, the Scunthorpe Telegraph and Hull Daily Mail. They have also been running appeals to fill seats on the plane for children from North Lincolnshire and the north bank, and have also reached their targets.

Joanne added: "I have never seen three newspapers from three regions pull together so much and get onboard for a campaign – what an achievement."

Read your Grimsby Telegraph today to find out why Lapland means so much to Cleethorpes five-year-old Claudia Stansfield.

We are happy to continue receiving contributions for When You Wish Upon A Star. Send your money, with cheques made payable to When You Wish Upon A Star, to editor Michelle Lalor at: Grimsby Telegraph, 80 Cleethorpe Road, Grimsby, DN31 3EH. Don't forget to include your name and contact number.

Keep checking your Telegraph for ongoing coverage.