Charity fun run with a panto twist... Oh, yes it is

Franklins Solicitors LLP, have branches in both Northampton and Milton Keynes. In 2018 they started the Franklins £50 Challenge, where they give £50 to any local organisation that signs up. You have a choice of eight worthy local charities to support, four from Milton Keynes and four from Northampton. You then have three months, from 20th February – 24th May 2024, to invest the £50 and try to increase it to raise as much money as possible for your chosen charity. At the end of the challenge your company will be invited to an awards ceremony to find out which company has raised the most. Game on!

Laugh Out Loud Theatre Company is a non-profit community theatre organisation with an aim to bring theatre back into the heart of our local communities and make it accessible and affordable for everyone. Whilst they do offer ticketed events, the majority of their work is funded by grants from local authorities, grant awarding bodies and local businesses. LOL Theatre have been lucky enough to be the recipients of not one, but two grants from Northamptonshire Community Foundation towards community-based arts projects. ‘Her Majesty’s Shoes’, specially written for the Jubilee celebrations, proudly showcased Northamptonshire’s shoe industry as well as the many Royal visits our county has received over the years. A family-friendly production of ‘The Canterbury Tales’, adapted by Martin Riley, was performed in style by a group of budding young thespians aged between 10-16 years old, alongside four professional actors, at Winwick Hall last summer after completing a week-long drama camp. Both projects could not have gone ahead without the support of Northamptonshire Community Foundation and the grants they award for the arts and culture.

Emma Kendrick, Company Director of LOL Theatre, said, "We feel so incredibly grateful to have been recognised as a worthy cause by Northamptonshire Community Foundation and to have been awarded two grants from them. Not only does this allow us to hire local theatre practitioners, but we can also support our local communities and provide them with accessible and affordable theatre experiences, bringing our communities together and allowing them to tell their stories through the joy of the arts."

On Saturday 6th April the two directors of LOL Theatre, Emma Kendrick and Natalie Částka, will complete a 5K Parkrun at Wicksteed Park to raise money for their fundraising challenge. Not only that but they'll be doing it in pantomime costumes! It should be quite a spectacle and members of the public are encouraged to watch from the sidelines and cheer them on. Emma said, "If you have a few pounds to spare or can share their fundraising page, please help in any way you can towards this big fundraising effort. Thank you!"

Dean Jones, Head of Giving and Development at Northamptonshire Community Foundation, said, "Northamptonshire Community Foundation is absolutely thrilled and so grateful to have won the support of Emma Kendrick and Natalie Částka from Laugh Out Loud Theatre Company. Their support as one of our Franklins £50 challenge partners will make a huge difference in helping the residents and groups within rural Northamptonshire to thrive. The great news is that every penny Emma and Natalie raise will be matched pound for pound by our partners funders The Constance Travis Group. Please give generously. Thank you so much LOL Theatre!"

To find out more about LOL Theatre’s fundraising activities and to sponsor them please visit their JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/lol-theatre-pantoparkrun2024

If you’d like to find out more information aboutLOL Theatre please contact [email protected] / 07846 147845 or visit our website www.loltheatre.co.uk. For further information on applying for funding go to Northamptonshire Community Foundation’s website www.ncf.uk.com.