Mascot march raises awareness of charities
Pikachu, the Easter Bunny and the Highland Hub pub were just some of the mascots that walked through Fareham Town Centre to help celebrate the work of local volunteers and increase public awareness.
Organiser Hayley Hamlett said: ‘It is great for everyone to have fun together and network locally as well as having the opportunity to talk to the public about their work.’
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Hide AdHayley works for One Community which support charities and organisations in the area with their work.
Hayley added: ‘We help people find volunteers and we find volunteering opportunities and it all shows that community spirit in Fareham is so alive and important and the march has been a great success.’
Some of the organisations who attended the march on Saturday included Acts of Kindness (AOK), Friends Through Pain and the Highland Hub.
Kerry from AOK said: ‘Hayley works so hard to help everyone in the community and this march has meant meeting charities in the area we had not heard of which means more opportunities to help people.’
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Hide AdThe march was supported by local supermarkets, Tesco and Asda, whose community champions came along to join in with the march.
Kari Pratt from Tesco said: ‘This march has given me such inspiration to get our own mascot and work with other charities in the area.’
Sharon Noble from Asda added: ‘The work One Community does means organisations are supported and it is great to see so many different charities.’
Youngsters appearing in Gosport Gangshow joined the march donning penguins costumes.
Mayor of Fareham, Councillor Geoff Fazackarley, who opened the march, said: ‘Without these charities doing their work 365 days a year, Fareham would shut down.’