Tattoo artists in Aberdeen have got crafty to ink a £1,000 boost for Cfine by hosting a walk-in day.
Artists at Utopia Body Arts raised funds for the north-east charity after opening their doors to anyone wanting a flash tattoo.
Each tattoo artist had a selection of pre-drawn designs to choose from for a set size and price, with all funds going to Cfine.
The Press & Journal, Evening Express, Original 106 and Energy Voice are highlighting the work of the charity and initiatives to support them as part of our Big Christmas Food Appeal.
The body piercers also had pay-as-you-feel sessions to raise donations for the local food charity.
Owner and body piercer, Nathan Hague, explained Cfine is an important charity in the city and he has worked with the organisation in his previous job as a chef.
He wanted to host the walk-in day as a chance to support and promote the work Cfine, and other foodbanks, do for the city, especially after the pandemic.
Mr Hague added: “You can clearly see that tattoo and piercing shops across Aberdeen care because we are not the only ones doing things for foodbanks. You’ll see a lot of alternative businesses looking to do things like this in the next few weeks as well.
“A lot of our clients are more of the gifting type, so for us, if we have done charitable drives in the past we’ve actually been pretty successful with them.
“But when we’ve done that we’ve just basically done a collection, whereas this time after Covid small businesses can give a little bit more back.”
‘Not just an empty gesture’
The event raised more than £1,ooo for Cfine, with shop manager Vicky Birks saying this is something they would like continue doing into the new year as well.
She said everyone working at Utopia, including the two guest artists from Shetland, were more than happy to support the charity walk-in day.
She said: “If you think, it’s like one day’s work for us which obviously is a lot of work – but it is just one day and people are pretty sound about that.”
“I think people think industries like ours just don’t care but it’s the complete opposite.”
The shop has decided to create a drop-off point for any food donations for Cfine too, so that anyone could be involved in contributing on the day, even if they can’t afford to get a spontaneous tattoo for charity.
Ms Birks stressed they wanted to raise awareness and support for the food charity as well as money raised through the walk-in day or food collections.
“It’s important to us, it’s not just an empty gesture,” she said. “Especially because Cfine does a lot of good work in this city and people need to know about it.
“Something so small from anyone can make such a big difference to people and just being more mindful that there’s other people out there who are really struggling.
“And I know we’re all struggling but we’re all in this together, and if people could just be a bit nicer and help each other out things could be better.”
Big Christmas Food Appeal
The Press and Journal, Evening Express, Energy Voice and Original 106 has stepped up the Big Christmas Food Appeal to ease some of the worries many people are facing this winter.
Working with our partner Cfine, we are highlighting initiatives like Utopia’s walk-in day.
We have also been reporting on the cost-of-living crisis, threatening households right to the brink, while making sure those in our communities know where to get help when they need it.
If you’re part of a group fundraising or organising a collection please get in touch so we can share your efforts, and raise awareness of the other organisations out there. E-mail livenews@ajl.co.uk
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