A FAMILY in Rhyl in temporary accommodation after being made homeless enjoyed a day of free, fun-filled activities as part of an ongoing charitable scheme in the town.
Sophie Parker, 22, and her son, Reuben, received a couple out of roughly 150-200 free tickets to a number of attractions that have been given out to homeless families in the town by prominent fundraiser, Richard Kendrick.
They were given free admission to Lollie’s Play Café on Vale Road, and Geronimo’s Adventure Playzone on West Parade on Monday (June 5), with Sophie expressing her gratitude to Richard afterwards.
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Lazer Zone and Geronimo’s tickets kindly bought for homeless families in Rhyl
She said: “I was given an extra ticket to both, so Reuben had a friend to play with while he was there, and we paid for my friend’s niece, too.
“If it wasn't for Richard, we couldn't have had the lovely day that we had with the kids, because I couldn't afford to take my little boy.
“The day out with my son, and taking his little friends with us, made me feel like a good mum, because I was able to give him a fun day out, and the kids loved it.”
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Richard used the hundreds of pounds he raised from his charity “sleepouts” in March to buy tickets to various attractions in the town.
More than 50 of those tickets were then donated to children and families in Rhyl helped by Big Help Project, a homelessness charity.
A further 24 were given to Blossom & Bloom, a charity in Rhyl dedicated to supporting homeless and vulnerable mothers.
He is also planning to fund tickets to the town’s Vue cinema in September.
Richard said: “We’ll make sure that virtually everyone in the housing officers’ care will be offered tickets.
“When you get messages back saying ‘thank you’, it’s lovely. When you’re living in one room and there are four, five or six of you, I think the children struggle more than the adults.
“To get kids out and doing things is amazing. It’s what the kids need.”
Richard raised thousands as he slept rough every night for a week across North Wales in March.
He was taking part in Royal British Legion Industries’ (RBLI) “Great Tommy Sleep Out”, where fundraisers sleep rough in aid of the roughly 6,000 military veterans living on the streets in the UK.
That followed Richard completing his role as Rhyl’s Poppy Appeal Organiser, during which time he raised £212,835.24 in two years.
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