Having a laugh for a jolly good cause (From Swindon Advertiser)

Having a laugh for a jolly good cause

12:00pm Monday 11th March 2013 in News

LEG WAXING, head shaving, fancy dress wearing and cake baking will be some of the fundraising activities taking place across Swindon for Comic Relief this year.

On Friday, the town will go all out to raise as much cash as possible for Red Nose Day, which this year has the theme ‘Do Something Funny For Money’.

The Goddard Arms in Old Town will be hosting events throughout the day with staff wearing fancy dress, donation buckets on the bar, male workers having their legs waxed and one brave lady saying goodbye to her beloved locks.

Maria Firth, 49, the mother of Emma Cox, 33, the events and sales manager at the pub, will have her head shaved on Friday night and hopes as many people as possible will sponsor her.

Emma said: “Mum said she sits there watching Red Nose Day on the television every year and always cries at the stories they show, but she said she doesn’t have much money herself to donate so having her head shaved and raising money that way will make her feel better.

“She has very short hair anyway so it won’t be too extreme, but for a woman who is nearly in her 50s I think she is being very brave. “She’s excited but apprehensive, she is more worried about bumping into somebody she knows after she has had it done.”

Maria, who works at One Stop in Shrivenham, will also have donation buckets at her shop this week, to help raise money ahead of the event.

Craig Hussey, manager of Sainsburys in the town centre will be having his legs waxed on the day, while staff at the Harvester at Blunsdon will also be getting in on the action, with a Family Fun Day on Friday, which will include the restaurant manager undergoing a waxing session.

Meanwhile, children and staff at Southfield Junior School in Highworth will be hoping to beat the £3,000 they raised for the cause last year, by raising an impressive £4,000.

As well as dressing up for the day, children will have the opportunity to ‘spaghetti their teacher’, while parents can also get involved in the fun by taking part in a parent Zumba session.

Youngsters at Moredon and Rodbourne Cheney Primary Schools will be dressing as superheroes with silly hair on the big day, as well as buying cakes that have been donated. And those who do not have their own red nose can even have one painted instead.

To see what you can do to raise money, visit rednoseday.com