Pride of Britain 2021: Meet Regional Fundraiser of the Year finalist Stan Yanetta
It's the return of Pride of Britain, where we applaud some of those whose fundraising has made a big difference in their community.
A man from South Tyneside has raised tens of thousands of pounds for charity.
Stan Yanetta works seven days a week at his garage in South Shields, and still finds time to help others.
He uses a fleet of crazy cars to put a smile on children's faces while raising money for good causes, as well as putting on elaborate festival displays outside his house.
This year Stan is supporting ‘Stopping Unsafe Relationships Together’ (SURT), an organisation that helps people who are in abusive relationships.
Leanne Hansen, from SURT said: "Stan's obviously given a lot of himself to supporting us and the borough, but he's a man that wants to help the borough.
"He's a very geniuine man, what you see is what you get, he's full of fun and he's caring. He's doing a lot of things to help other people rather than himself suppoting adults and children, he's just really keen to make the lives of other people better.”
Every year Stan's home is transformed at Halloween and Christmas, where people come to see the spectacle and donate to the charity he is supporting.
Stan's efforts have raised £14,000 for ‘Tiny Lives last year’, helping the charity to continue to support families who have premature and sick new-born babies.
Louise Carroll, from Tiny Lives said: "The donation from Stan last year was absolutely astonishing. Without his funding, especially during covid, our fundraising was hit massively from our events not happening, so Stan's fundraising was amazing and it helped us to continue supporting the families.”
As well as supporting lots of worthy causes, Stan loves to bring joy to people's lives with his wacky wheels and dazzling displays.