40 years of fundraising: Navy divers prepare for annual run in support of Christmas Daddies

The Christmas Daddies Telethon returns this Saturday, and a major fundraiser for the cause is marking a big milestone.

The Navy Diver’s Run has been raising funds for Maritime children in need at Christmastime since 1983.

S1 Bradley Northrup, a clearance diver with Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic), will be joining the group once again this year as they run 50 kilometers and collect donations.

“We are a small team, a small family within the community,” says Northrup. “We were looking for a way to give back to the community that’s welcomed us in with open arms. This was a great cause and for 40 years now we’ve looked forward to it every year.”

While the divers can typically be seen running through the streets of Halifax on the day of the telethon, the group won’t be able to this year due to pandemic-related issues.

“We will still be doing (the run) at our dive unit in Shearwater,” Northrup says. “However, we are gonna have three hot stops throughout HRM, so we’re gonna be at the Alderney Landing Market, the Halifax Waterfront in front of Murphy’s, and down Spring Garden in front of Duggars Mens Wear.”

The divers are already collecting funds through a GoFundMe page with a goal of raising $8,000.

“If there is a silver lining to the pandemic, we’ve had to adapt to not meeting people face to face and the GoFundMe is definitely one of those silver linings,” says Northrup.

A MK5 Navy Divers helmet, donated by the Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic,) has been a part of the auction portion of Christmas Daddies since 1985.

Last year, the group unveiled a new, bigger helmet.

“It’s been coveted by Big Leagues in Dartmouth for years and with this helmet we’ve raised over a million dollars with those donations,” says Northrup.

The Navy Diver’s Run itself has raised just over $348,000 over the past four decades.

While this year’s run will look different, Northrup says the Navy divers will continue the tradition of an arrival chant as they stop by the CTV Atlantic studios towards the end of the telethon with their cheque.

“This year, we are gonna be able to come here to the studio, I think we’re on the back deck, and we’ll be able to do the chant again with Steve (Murphy). One of our favorite parts is meeting Steve again.”

The 59th annual Christmas Daddies Telethon will broadcast live Saturday on CTV2 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.