A mysterious charity fundraiser who spent a week inside a dinosaur costume has finally been revealed.
The purple monster was spotted in popular locations across North Wales riding on buses, shopping and even eating chips!
Jacqueline Lloyd from Colwyn Bay dressed up as the dinosaur to draw attention to suicide prevention and the work of the national charity PAPYRUS.
“You can’t see mental health issues, people don’t really ask or talk about it, so my idea was to do something very public and very visual to raise awareness of the help and support which is available.
“It doesn’t get much more visual than suddenly coming face-to-face with a big purple dinosaur,” said 37-year-old Jacqueline who has lost three friends to suicide.
Her dinosaur costume was a big hit in Bangor, Llandudno and everywhere she went, particularly with children and young people.
“The dinosaur became an invitation to chat and the response was amazing. Kids posed for photos, took PAPYRUS flags, leaflets and wristbands and I met teenagers and others who’d lost friends to suicide.
“It was quite intense emotionally to hear people sharing their stories about suicide, the loss of a loved one how they’d never seen it coming,” she added.
Jacqueline is a mum, a music teacher and a trainee counsellor. She is also a volunteer for the charity PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide.
“It was all about promoting what the charity is all about and the work it does to help young people who are struggling with life.
“Suicide is the biggest killer of young people under the age of 35 in the UK and every year we lose more than 200 schoolchildren to suicide. Professional support and help is available and we can all do our bit to spot the signs of suicidal thoughts and to help make our communities suicide-safer,” said Jacqueline.
You can find out more about PAPYRUS at www.papyrus-uk.org and support Jacqueline’s fundraising by going to: https://gofund.me/085f33a1
For practical, confidential suicide prevention help and advice please contact PAPYRUS HOPELINE247 on 0800 068 4141, text 07860 039967 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org
