After months of successful fundraising for the NSPCC Dragon’s Challenge, which saw Drake Circus raise the winning total of £10,308, Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden will be visiting the shopping centre on 11th August to congratulate the team and take part in a varied and fun day of activities.
Coinciding with Deborah’s visit will be a day-long fun day for children where popular character, Peppa Pig, will be making appearances at intervals throughout the day. Children will also be able to have their picture taken with her so don’t forget to bring your camera!
At 2.00pm Deborah will join in the fun when she will meet children and their parents and take part in the grand cheque presentation to the NSPCC.
As well as Peppa Pig, children can look forward to balloon modelling with the ever-popular Wishy Washy, face painting and the opportunity to take part in a game where the winner will receive a family ticket for four to Woodlands. Woodlands will also be handing out discount tickets on the day.
Not content with just raising money for the NSPCC as part of the Dragon’s Challenge, Drake Circus has also opened the day to the NSPCC to raise more money through collections.
Deborah will arrive at Drake Circus at 11.00am when she will meet Drake Circus staff, retailers and key fundraisers, after which she will be given a tour of the centre.
She will spend an hour talking to Drake Circus management and giving them the benefit of her vast experience in the tourism sector, before going to Waterstones Drake Circus at 1.30pm to sign copies of her book, “Common Sense Rules”.
Mike Jones, general manager at Drake Circus who, while dressed as a tiger and locked in a cage and with city centre manager Clint Jones, raised £5314 for the Challenge, said: “We were thrilled to learn that we had raised the most money for the Dragon’s Challenge, and we are looking forward to welcoming Deborah Meaden to Drake Circus on 11th August. Her visit is not only great news for the centre, but also for all those individuals and organisations that banded together to help us raise the winning amount and who will be joining us on the day to meet the woman who inspired the Challenge.”
He added: “We have a varied and fun day mapped out for Deborah, and we hope that she will enjoy her visit to Drake Circus as much as we will enjoy welcoming her.”
Drake Circus arranged and hosted a wide range of fundraising activities for NSPCC Dragon’s Challenge. As well as locking Mike Jones and Clint Jones in a cage and only releasing them when they had hit their fundraising target, other activities included: raising money from recycling Christmas cards; teaming up with Plymouth Karting to run a race evening; hosting a day of song, performance and living fashion mannequins from Plymouth College; encouraging stores in the centre to raise money – New Look, for example, held a uniform day; ice skating; inviting Plymouth Rotary Club to donate part of its Christmas fundraising to the Challenge; and hosting various static cycling and rowing challenges by a range of organisations, from the Marines to the University of Plymouth Ladies’ Rugby Club.
