Maggie Lamont

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Why did you decide to fundraise for your chosen cause?

Until my partner Bill Smart was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND), I knew very little about this debilitating disease. After Bill sadly passed away, I decided to raise money in his memory. I also wanted to use this pop-up fundraiser to raise awareness of this devastating condition.

How did you raise money?

Methil has a pop up shop that can be hired by the week for charitable use. I decided to rent the shop to hold a fundraising sale in aid of motor neurone disease research at the University of Edinburgh.

Thanks to the help of my family, friends and Facebook, I received a great selection of goods to sell.

I received a lot of new and nearly used baby goods which I used for our window display – the beautiful selection of cots, baby baths, blankets and toys was great as it helped to draw in customers. I also received lots of new clothes, shoes and accessories in a range of sizes… I could not believe how generous people were.

I kept the prices nice and low, and thanks to local mums popping in, all the baby stuff sold really quickly, as did our rails of school uniform, which proved to be very popular too.

As well as selling items, I also had a tombola table with various donated prizes, ranging from silk scarfs to bottles of whisky, this was a great way to raise extra cash.

I’m very thankful to everyone who donated beforehand, helped during the sale, and everyone who bought throughout the week, people’s generosity was amazing.

Fundraising wisdom

Personally, I think that this is a great way to raise money, but you need to be prepared! Book the premises early, remembering to give yourself time to advertise and gather donations. You will also need somewhere to store all the donated items until the shop opens.

Dress up the shop to make it look as nice and welcoming as possible to encourage passers’ by to pop in. Don’t forget to include family and friends, as many hands make light work.

Set yourself a goal and go for it! It truly is a satisfying feeling knowing that you have made a difference. Make sure to have fun and enjoy the experience – we all certainly did.

Related Links

Euan MacDonald Centre for MND Research