By Alexandra Pereira
DISABILITY CHARITY, Mencap Leeds, has hosted its second fundraising film screening with the theme of Christmas.
This was on the back of last year’s event hosting a successful screening of Willy Wonka, which ended up raising almost £1,500.
Mencap Leeds put on a screening of a Christmas classic Home Alone and this year it has managed to raise just shy of £1,200.
After a month of planning, the screening took place in the Everyman cinema in the Trinity Leeds Shopping Centre and took place on November 29.
The event was held in the early evening when people do not have to focus on shopping and can just relax, said the organisers.
Siobhan Lewis, 21, who is the Mencap corporate account coordinator explained why it was held in the shopping centre: “Mencap has a national partnership with Land Securities, and Trinity shopping centre is one of their sites. Everyman cinema were kind enough to allow Mencap to have cinema space for the film viewing.”
Many people were surprised about it being held on a weekday, and this caused some controversy, with one person who asked not to be named saying: “It would have been better if the event was on a Friday, Saturday or even Sunday night, not on a day when kids are at school and they have got to be up for school the next day.”
But Ms Lewis explained: “We had held the event previously on a weekday Tuesday, and it worked really well.
“As it is the time of year to be around your family, we chose Home Alone which is a great film for all ages – so we aimed it all members of the family and friends of all ages.”
Mencap is a charity which works to improve the lives and opportunities of children and adults with learning disabilities and their families as well as help people with a learning disability to be valued equally, listened to and included.