Black Country gets together for Red Nose Day
There was singing, dancing, and laughter across the Black Country yesterday as people came together to raise money for Comic Relief.
Fundraisers dressed up to mark Red Nose Day and collect donations to support people facing poverty, violence, and discrimination across the world.
Two of those people were Jack and Carol Pritchard, who can be frequently found busking across the Black Country to raise money for an array of different charities.
Jack, 75, said: "Everyone had a great time. People are giving so much at the moment with what's going on in Ukraine. There were people who put £10 notes in!
"The customers were singing along with the songs from the 60s and the 50s, and we even had some people dancing.
"People also gave nice comments to the managers and said it was lovely to walk around the shop while songs from their past were playing."
Maggie Thompson, from Wordsley, also put smiles on people's faces to raise money for Comic Relief, by encouraging people to embrace their inner child.
The 70-year-old is a Laughter Yoga instructor, which consists of a series of exercises to encourage people to laugh, unwind, and feel energised.
Maggie said: "They're laughter exercises based on role-playing activities, combined with deep breaths and hand claps.
"It's a great way to connect people and change your mood. It boosts your immune system as you're changing the chemistry of your body, creating endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin.
"It also sends more oxygen to your brain so you feel much more energised. It completely changes your mood and only takes a matter of minutes."
To raise money for Comic Relief, Maggie led a walk around Bumble Hole Nature Reserve in Dudley while guiding participants through laughter yoga exercises.
And in Kidderminster, Little Trinity Nursery enjoyed a week of fundraising activities and crafts, all of which were themed around the colour red.
To raise funds for Red Nose Day the children had self-portraits taken, which were then mounted in frames and offered for sale to parents for a £1 each.
Nursery manager, Gaynor Carter, commented: “We always like to support Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day and our parents were amazing, supporting our fundraising efforts to raise an amazing £177.50 with a little more coming in later this afternoon.
"We are hoping a little more money is also expected to arrive following further activities.”
Jack, Carol, and Maggie are still counting their donations and do not yet know how much they have raised.
