Shropshire youngsters urged to get arty for charity

Lingen Davies Cancer Fund has teamed up with Reech Media to launch a competition for children under the age of 16 to design a new mascot for the charity.

The final winning design will be made into a real-life mascot suit which will then attend various fundraising events, as well as the charity’s LiveLife Cancer Awareness workshops.

Reech Media, based at Shrewsbury Business Park, has sponsored the project and will oversee the creation of the final mascot, as well as supply prizes which include a brand new Ipad for the overall winner. There are three age categories for children to enter – four to eight, nine to 12 and 13 to 16 – and the entries will be judged by a panel including the world-famous Shrewsbury-based comic book illustrator Charlie Adlard.

Naomi Atkin, CEO of Lingen Davies, said this was a great way for the growing charity to connect with the county's youth and create a fun addition to the team.

“We have recently launched our LiveLife Cancer Awareness Service and creating a mascot to attend events alongside that was the next logical step.

“By asking children in our community to get involved with the design process we hope to not only tap into fantastic imaginations, but also to give one youngster the chance to work with a designer to see their design become reality.

“I will be visiting schools throughout our area to share the work we do and enable local children to learn more about the work of local charities in the area,” she added.

Rob Hughes, managing director of Reech Media, said: “We’re really excited to supply prizes and work alongside the team at Lingen Davies as official sponsors for this competition. This is a fantastic opportunity for local schools and budding artists to get creative and design the charity’s first-ever mascot.

“As a local agency, we have proudly worked alongside Lingen Davies as their official marketing partner for many years, and we look forward to welcoming the winner to our agency to sit down with one of our designers and bring their design to life.”

For more details on the competition and to download a pack, visit the charity’s website lingendavies.co.uk