Second year Sussex student, Aaron Lawrence, has taken on the challenge of “wearing nothing but fancy dress for a whole year”.
The challenge is in aid of raising money and awareness for MindOut, the LGBTQ Mental Health Service.
The student hopes to reach his target of £15,000 and is accepting donations to support him through the duration of the challenge.
Companies have started to sponsor the student by donating costumes to the cause all of which will be auctioned off with the money going to charity once they have been worn and washed by Lawrence.
Other costumes worn are his own, whilst some are borrowed.
The student who is based in Brighton commented that he was a bit apprehensive to begin with when wearing costumes in public, saying: “I hope I don’t get any negative comments, not yet anyway, I think it might really damage my confidence if it happens within the first few weeks.”
The reaction around campus has been nonchalant so far: “Generally speaking people haven’t been that fussed. The vast majority of people don’t know what I’m doing yet because I didn’t really tell anyone until I started doing it.
“My first reaction was from my lecturer on my first morning who asked me whether I was on a stag do.”
“Around Brighton everyone dresses up to a certain degree whereas this is an academic establishment and so I was worried that people might think that I was trying to take the micky out of what they were doing here.”
With around thirty costumes in his possession, the student is actively seeking out new costumes to wear by writing to companies to try and get outfits donated to the cause. He needs to keep at least twenty costumes ahead of him in order to succeed.
In regards to his target of raising £15,000, Aaron mentioned that “I’m less than two weeks in now and I’ve already raised an incredible £1454 but obviously that’s not going to carry on to that degree – or at least I don’t think so.
“I’m confident though, I’ve got a lot of things planned throughout the year and if it doesn’t look like I’m going to get there I’m just going to keep adding things to it to keep it rolling. I think the more people who know about it the more people will donate.”
Aaron started his challenge on October 1st and hopes to finish on September 30th 2016, by which point he will have been in fancy dress for 366 days.
For more information about Aaron’s challenge and to find out more about the work carried out by MindOut, his chosen charity, visit www.mycostumedrama.com and follow his progress on twitter @mycostumedrama.
Second year Sussex student, Aaron Lawrence, has taken on the challenge of “wearing nothing but fancy dress for a whole year”.
The challenge is in aid of raising money and awareness for MindOut, the LGBTQ Mental Health Service.
The student hopes to reach his target of £15,000 and is accepting donations to support him through the duration of the challenge.
Companies have started to sponsor the student by donating costumes to the cause all of which will be auctioned off with the money going to charity once they have been worn and washed by Lawrence.
Other costumes worn are his own, whilst some are borrowed.
The student who is based in Brighton commented that he was a bit apprehensive to begin with when wearing costumes in public, saying: “I hope I don’t get any negative comments, not yet anyway, I think it might really damage my confidence if it happens within the first few weeks.”
The reaction around campus has been nonchalant so far: “Generally speaking people haven’t been that fussed. The vast majority of people don’t know what I’m doing yet because I didn’t really tell anyone until I started doing it.
“My first reaction was from my lecturer on my first morning who asked me whether I was on a stag do.”
“Around Brighton everyone dresses up to a certain degree whereas this is an academic establishment and so I was worried that people might think that I was trying to take the micky out of what they were doing here.”
With around thirty costumes in his possession, the student is actively seeking out new costumes to wear by writing to companies to try and get outfits donated to the cause. He needs to keep at least twenty costumes ahead of him in order to succeed.
In regards to his target of raising £15,000, Aaron mentioned that “I’m less than two weeks in now and I’ve already raised an incredible £1454 but obviously that’s not going to carry on to that degree – or at least I don’t think so.
“I’m confident though, I’ve got a lot of things planned throughout the year and if it doesn’t look like I’m going to get there I’m just going to keep adding things to it to keep it rolling. I think the more people who know about it the more people will donate.”
Aaron started his challenge on October 1st and hopes to finish on September 30th 2016, by which point he will have been in fancy dress for 366 days.
For more information about Aaron’s challenge and to find out more about the work carried out by MindOut, his chosen charity, visit www.mycostumedrama.com and follow his progress on twitter @mycostumedrama.
By Lauren Wade and Jessica Schofield
