By DAISY SAMPSON [email protected]
A group of charities located in the western Algarve are coming together to hold the United Charities Fair on August 7 from 10am until 4pm at the Mercado do Levante, located next to the bus station in Lagos.
The aim of the fair is to raise money for various different charities in the area while also increasing awareness about the work that they do to help the local community.
So far the associations involved in the fair are the Nandi animal charity, the end of life support association Madrugada, the NECI school for children with special needs, Riding for the Disabled Barlavento, St Vincent’s Anglican Church and Lagos Bombeiros.
Fundraiser Susan Michael, who helps with the Nandi charity, told the Algarve Resident: “We decided that we needed to work together to promote our charities and to raise money. The great thing about this fair is that all the charities are so different.”
The fair is free to attend and money will be raised for all the charities through the sale of stalls at the fair as well as the collection of money by representatives of the associations during the event.
Susan Michael added: “This is a great chance for local artisans and artists to be able to show off their work and make some sales at an event that will appeal to everyone.”
Pat Allen has been coordinating the organisation of the United Charities Fair. She told the Algarve Resident: “It got to a point when we realised that many charity events in the west were clashing with each other so we held a meeting to organise all of our schedules to prevent this happening further in the future and this is where the idea of the United Charities Fair came from.
“There are only so many people to come to these sorts of events and we wanted to make it easier for them to be able to donate to their favourite charity while also perhaps learning about others that may interest them too.”
It is hoped that other charities in the area will also come forward and take part to make it a truly inclusive event for the western Algarve.
Pat added: “We have already sold some of the stalls for the fair including one for a man who demonstrates wood turning, an Indian food stand, pressed flower sellers and refreshment stalls.”
Stalls at the fair cost €20. For further information about booking a stall or to register the interest of another charitable organisation in the United Charities Fair, please call Pat Allen on 282 697 548 or email [email protected]
