Pantos with purpose

Somewhere out there, in a small section of the blogosphere, not very far from a place near you, a number of UK bloggers are up to something...

... it involves men in make-up, laughter, crazy costumes, brightly coloured wigs, questionable jokes and generous donations to charity.

What are these UK bloggers up to?

They are working hard at a fabulous initiative created by an equally fabulous blogger, mum of two, and editor of Have a Lovely Time  - Linda Jones - to raise money for the children's cancer charity NACCPO through the Great Panto Review 2009.

What is the Great Panto Review 2009?

Leading theatres in England, Scotland and Wales have generously agreed to give a number of bloggers access to their local pantomimes to that they can review the performances on their blogs and on Have a Lovely Time and spread the word through social media. Those taking part have been asked to donate, perhaps the price of a ticket, to NACCPO and encourage their readers to donate too.

Linda came up with the idea after being approached by several large companies, including Disney and Ford, to write about their products. She was keen to harness the resulting 'word of mouth' to do something positive at Christmas time. Speaking about the idea Linda said:

"It was inspired by the fact that my family loved John Barrowman at the Birmingham Hippodrome last year and as Aladdin the year before. I wanted to be able to share the laughter with other bloggers, as well as promoting the Great British panto and raising money for a wonderful charity."

NACCPO fundraiser Rachael Olley added:

"To see the star names in productions backing this campaign is great for us. We rely on fundraising and applaud the bloggers for their innovative way of bringing in money which will be used to support children with cancer. We are entirely dependant on fundraising to continue our services - we do not receive any government or statutory findraising so every penny is gratefully received."

What is NACCPO?

NACCPO is the National Alliance of Childhood Cancer Parent Organisations. It is made up of parent-run organisations who work together with the common aim of supporting children and young adults with cancer.

How can we help?

These bloggers need our help to promote the initiative and  help Linda reach her fundraising target of £1000. So far, just 11% of that target has been achieved.

So, we can read the reviews that are starting to appear on Have a Lovely Time.

We can promote the fundraising initiative through social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Stumbleupon, Digg and on our own blogs.

We can also direct people to Linda's donation page.

Please support the Great Panto Review 2009 and support a very worthwhile cause.

Blog it, Tweet it, Retweet it, Digg it, Stumble it, Facebook it, remember it, support it!

Comments

[Linda Jones]

Hi Rosie, thanks ever so much for your wonderful post and for your donation. I do hope people can donate and help families of children with cancer, this isn't a charity that has any budget to promote itself, and does such brilliant work. Rachael became involved after her own son was poorly but thankfully recovered. Not everyone is so lucky and I thought that Christmas time was a good time to help. It would be brilliant if people could donate, although a "target" is set at £1,000, any sum will be welcome to this charity. I have worked really hard on it so I hope people can join in. Thanks again. x

[TheMadHouse]

What a great job everyone is doing on this

[angelsandurchinsblog]

Just writing it up now! My panto review, that is. Such a great idea of Linda's, and it looks like it's going to raise a useful amount of money. Oh yes it is, etc!

[lulu Campbell]

Thanks for posting - I was meant to do the same, so hope you don't mind if I borrow your type!! Thanks Lx