Tuesday 22 April 2014

Media release – for immediate use

Charity Fundraiser a big success
Local men raise almost $8000 in support of local causes

Mainstreet Wanganui kicked off Easter with a bang when Wanganui’s CBD retailers celebrated by staying open late on Thursday 17 April and combined ‘late night shopping’ with a charity fundraiser that saw Victoria Avenue buzzing. The inaugural ‘Mr Whanganui Charity Fundraiser’ began at 6pm and was a hit with locals and visitors alike. In the end 32 men stood in shop windows representing 32 local charities and in just three hours the generosity of the Wanganui community saw $7935 dollars raised. The men who gave up their evening to take part got into the spirit of the event either looking sharp in their dinner suits and tuxedos or going shirtless to persuade women to give extra money to their charity of choice. Some women even said that ‘giving to charity had never been so fun.’

On the night shoppers handed over cash in exchange for Mr Whanganui dollar bills. They then gave their $1 bills to the man or men they liked the most. At the end of the night these fake dollar bills were handed in and exchanged back into real cash money for the charity of their choice.

The winner on the night was Andy Jarden who was in Footloose’s window at 90 Victoria Avenue, he dressed as a butler and handed out glasses of wine and bribed the odd punter with free foot massages. His efforts paid off when he raised $650 for his chosen charity the Parkinson’s Society, Mainstreet Wanganui then donated a further $500 to Parkinson’s as his prize for raising the most money on the night.

The runner up for biggest haul was Geoff Davies for Wanganui Cancer Society and third place went to Daniel McKechnie for Plunket who both raised over $500 respectively.

Other standouts were Matt Parr and some of his colleagues from the Wanganui Fire Department who were raising money for Wanganui Riding for the Disabled. They delighted kids and Mum’s alike when they brought their fire truck into town and Wanganui Surf Lifesaving who gave away sausages to people who gave them $1 bills.

The event was such a success that CBD retailers and Mainstreet Wanganui are already discussing what they might do for next year and local men and charities alike are signing up. Elise Goodge, Marketing Manager for Mainstreet Wanganui says “watch this space!”

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