Llanelli MP celebrates local bingo club fundraising

Llanelli MP celebrates local bingo club fundraising

Nia Griffith MP recently called a game of bingo at Argos Bingo in Market Street, Llanelli, and celebrated the club’s fundraising for children’s charities. 

Ms Griffith said:

“It was great to call a game of bingo at Argos Bingo club on Friday and meet many of the local players. The manager Nigel Griffiths gave me a very warm welcome and told me about the excellent fundraising efforts the bingo players do for children’s charities.

“We raised over £1,000 for the NSPCC and Variety the Children’s Charity, in addition to the £1,225 the customers and volunteers at Argos Bingo collected recently for Macmillan Cancer Support. I would like to thank everyone involved in making this happen, and I very much hope it will continue.”

Llanelli’s MP also attended a Bingo Association event in Parliament recently to celebrate the £1.3 million overall donation to Variety the Children’s Charity from bingo players and clubs nationwide. She joined Variety ambassador and Strictly Come Dancing winner Joe McFadden and bingo players from around the country, including Mr Griffiths from Argos Bingo Llanelli.

Ms Griffith added:

“Thanks to support from bingo players across the country, Variety has been able to supply more wheelchairs and accessibility equipment to disabled children and sponsor day trips for children with special needs. I very much hope this charitable collaboration will continue.”

As Variety enters its 70th year in operation, The Bingo Association has chosen to extend their original four-year partnership for an extra fifth year, having been extremely moved by the charity’s tireless efforts to help less fortunate children live up to their full potential.

Over the past four years, The Bingo Association has donated the funds for Variety to provide schools and other organisations with 23 Sunshine Coaches. These coaches are specially adapted to be accessible to children with a diverse range of mobility needs, allowing beneficiaries to plan activities without worrying about the cost, timing, and expense of public transport.

Joe McFadden has been a familiar friendly face in British soaps for over ten years, having starred in Heartbeat, Casualty, and Holby City, before stepping into his dancing shoes and winning Strictly Come Dancing in 2017. He is one of Variety’s greatest ambassadors – regularly attending the charity’s events and helping to raise funds for children across the UK.  

Mr McFadden said:

“I’m delighted to be able to lend my voice to a cause as vital as Variety’s – vulnerable children are one of the most at risk groups in our society, and I’m honoured be able to champion their work. The Bingo Association’s generous donation means Variety can continue to help disadvantaged young people from across the UK reach their full potential.”

Miles Baron, CEO of the Bingo Association, said:

“I’m incredibly excited to announce over the past four years, bingo clubs have raised over £1.3 million for Variety, the Children’s Charity, smashing our target of £1 million.

“Variety’s work has a substantial impact on every community it touches, making it the perfect charitable partner for bingo, a social form of gambling rooted in the heart of local communities. It’s a delight to see the money raised by our customers go back into the communities it’s raised in, and I’m delighted to be extending our partnership with Variety by another year until the end of 2019.”