A Liverpool tattoo artist has held a fundraiser where people could get tattooed for a £30 children’s toy or donation to Cash for Kids Mission Christmas appeal.
Alessia Pedrosa, a tattoo artist with 10 years' experience who owns Hellcat Tattoo on Aigburth Road, decided to start the fundraiser to try and make a difference to disadvantaged children across Merseyside.
She said: “As soon as we heard about Mission Christmas, myself and the other artists wanted to get involved. Obviously, Christmas is a tough time for a lot of people in general, but this year with the extremely high energy bills, inflation, plus loads of local businesses closing leaving people jobless, it’s worse than ever. We just wanted to try and do what we could to help.
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“Christmas is so hyped up and it just breaks my heart to think of all those kids who feel left out and upset because they didn’t receive a gift, through no fault of their own.”
She said: “As soon as we posted about it, we had a really good response… But people can donate without getting tattooed”.
The event started at 11am and continued until late on Sunday, December 4 and featured pre-drawn traditional designs that Alessia and fellow artists Paul Reston and Tom Kelly had created on flash sheets. Alessia even organised an appearance from Father Christmas with snacks and children’s face painting.
There is a donations box set up in the studio so the public can drop off gifts until Friday, December 9. They will then be donated to the Mission Christmas appeal. Alessia is planning to have more tattoo fundraising days in the future.
The Cash for Kids Mission Christmas appeal has been set up to help disadvantaged children and young people living in poverty have a present to open on Christmas morning. The appeal is urging everyone to either leave a gift at registered drop-off points or donate cash which will be spent on gifts.
The appeal is also in partnership with B&M stores, where gifts can be dropped off in-store. The last day for dropping-off gifts is Monday, December 19.
The appeal is particularly keen on donations for babies and teenagers. Ideas for gifts include building blocks, teething rings and bibs for babies, and warm clothes, makeup, and headphones for teenagers. More suggestions for gifts can be found on the Cash for Kids website, with cash donations which can also be made online.
More information about gift drop-off points and ideas can be found here.
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