Fancy dress fan Nick Jemetta has gone viral after being interviewed on national breakfast television for raising more than £7,000 for local charities by wearing fancy dress to work.
Nick’s fancy dress story started back in May of 2020, but only went viral recently after he was interviewed by a number of local and national media outlets, including BBC Breakfast.
As an award-winning mental health campaigner, Nick knew early on in the pandemic that he wanted to do something to cheer up his colleagues, family and friends and decided to turn up to all of his work Zoom meetings in fancy dress costumes.
“The impact on colleagues was immediate and obvious,” he said, “so I thought why not continue doing this, give something back to my community and try to build something?”
His efforts throughout May were well-received and raised well over the initial £1,000 target, so Nick decided to take on a second challenge throughout December, which saw him wearing Christmas-themed costumes to spread a little festive cheer.
The two challenges combined have seen saw Nick raising more than £7,000 for six local charities, including Age UK Hertfordshire and North Herts and Stevenage Samaritans, while also ensuring that fancy dress and costumes remain firmly in the spotlight as a way to raise spirits during difficut times.
Nick intends to keep wearing fancy dress costumes to work until lockdown eases, keeping the outfits – and media coverage – coming well into 2021.
Find out more about Nick’s fancy dress challenge on his dedicated Facebook page.