Next year hundreds of additional people will be able to enjoy the gift of live theatre thanks to the generosity of donors to the Big Christmas Appeal at Lighthouse, Poole’s centre for the arts.
In the last twelve months Lighthouse has given more than 15,000 free or discounted tickets to children, families and local people who experience disadvantage.
The Big Christmas Appeal is aiming to raise £10,000 so that it can help even more people next year and Lyn Glass, a former chair of Poole Arts Trust the charity responsible for running Lighthouse, has offered to match every donation received until the end of the year or the appeal reaches its target of £10,000.
“It is an incredible gesture by one of our most generous supporters that means every penny donated to Lighthouse will be doubled,” says Lighthouse fundraising manager Tom Shallaker.
“We’re so grateful to all our donors and have been genuinely touched by Lyn’s amazing offer. Some of the children that have joined us this year had never been to the town centre before, let alone experienced the magic of live theatre. We’ve enabled mums living in a refuge to bring their children to the panto and helped elderly people who might otherwise be isolated enjoy a day out at a show.”
The Big Christmas Appeal runs until New Year’s Eve and the final show of this year’s pantomime Dick Whittington, starring Chris Jarvis and Richard Gibson.
To donate email donate@lighthousepoole.co.uk, visit lighthousepoole.co.uk/support-lighthouse/donation, or call 01202 280000.