Britain's kindest schoolboy is raising money for charity this Christmas after telling Santa: "I don't want a present, I want homeless people to be warm and have full tummies".<br /><br />Eight-year-old Thomas Howley stunned his parents and even reduced Santa’s ‘elves’ to tears with his selfless request.<br /><br />Proud dad Gareth, 40, and mum Sian, 38, launched an online appeal with Thomas’s help and in days raised almost £1,000.<br /><br />Thomas also completed a 5K fun run dressed as Father Christmas on Sunday to bolster funds for Northampton’s Hope Centre.<br /><br />His amazing efforts means the centre can open on Christmas Day and provide homeless people with hot dinners with all the trimmings.<br /><br />Thomas, from Desborough, Northants., said: “I just think everyone should enjoy Christmas Day and no one should be cold or hungry.<br /><br />“I’m really happy with all the donations. People have been very generous.”<br /><br />Thomas decided to shun presents and help those less fortunate after visiting Santa at his grotto at the beginning of December.<br /><br />Gareth, a software engineer, said: “I’m immensely proud of Thomas.<br /><br />“Helping homeless people is not something we’ve really promoted or pushed, it’s <br />literally just popped into his head, he was thinking about it. <br /><br />“He is just such a sweet little boy, to have that selflessness and think of others. <br /><br />“We’d taken him to see Santa and when he was asked what he wanted for Christmas he said ‘I don’t want a present for myself, I want all the homeless people to be warm and have a full tummy’.<br /><br />“The elves were so moved they started crying. Santa was taken aback too and asked him again but the response was the same. Thomas was quite stubborn.<br /><br />“We didn’t expect it. He’s at the age where you expect them to ask for a Meta Quest or something like that. We were blown away.<br /><br />“My wife and I decided to help Thomas so set up an online appeal and me and him entered a 2K charity run. The response has been amazing.<br /><br />“When the 2K race was cancelled due to the weather, Thomas wasn’t put off and we found an alternative 5K run which we did instead.<br /><br />"He is a really sweet boy but you don’t expect a child to turn down presents."<br /><br />Thomas set himself a target of £430 which is the cost of half-a-day of service at the Hope Centre. <br /><br />The inspiring schoolboy even posted videos on Facebook, keeping wellwishers updated on his progress.<br /><br />In one heart-melting video, Thomas says: “Thank you everyone who has donated so far, I really appreciate it. <br /><br />“Keep going, you’re doing brilliantly.” <br /><br />Thomas’ school even held a ‘mufti day’ – casual clothes day – to help him reach his target.<br /><br />So far Thomas has raised £745 which means the homeless centre can stay open almost all day on Christmas Day.<br /><br />Gareth said: “Thomas picked the charity himself and he made decision himself to raise £430 to keep it open for half-a-day so people would have somewhere to be on Christmas. <br /><br />“Every morning he asks how much we’ve raised – he's not viewing it as the money, he’s viewing it as how long he can keep the centre open. I'm so proud.”<br /><br />To donate to Thomas’ cause, visit his fundraising page at https://www.justgiving.com/page/gareth-howley-1701528260453
