SWAPPING old clothes and buying new lingerie, those who visited Lifton’s St Mary’s Church Hall were in for a treat when they attended the Pete’s Dragons’ charity event.

On Saturday, February 4, a charity ‘clothes swap and lingerie sale’ was held, with all the money raised being donated to Pete’s Dragons, a suicide bereavement support charity.

Pete’s Dragons provide support to those affected by the loss of a family member through suicide. They provide after care and bereavement support in Devon, and alongside the NHS in Cornwall. Alison Hill founded the charity after her brother, Pete Wicks, took his own life in Launceston in January 2010. He was 24.

Ahead of the sale the charity received a donation of some quality brand new lingerie and jewellery, which they put on sale for a 90% reduction off the retail price.

People also brought along old items of clothing and were able to purchase ‘a whole new wardrobe’ for just £1 per item, with the money going to the charity. Overall, the event was well attended and raised an impressive total of £330.

Alison, who is chief executive of Pete’s Dragons, said: “The event was fabulous and really well supported. Lots of people attended and went away happy with their bargains.

“We raised £330, which we are really excited about and are very grateful to everyone for their support.”

Speaking about the charity and what the money will be put towards, Ms Hill said: “The money will be put towards supporting people in Cornwall and Devon by way of hampers, financial assistance and emotional and practical support for those affected by suicide.

“We don’t run a complete service in Cornwall but do work alongside the NHS bereavement service to provide aftercare for those affected by suicide lose.

“The NHS provides a bereavement service in Cornwall and Pete’s Dragons works alongside them whilst providing a full care service in Devon. It’s lovely, we get to provide people in Cornwall with the same service as people in Devon, it just comes from two different services.”

The money raised by the event will be used to provide support for those who are dealing with the loss of a loved one. Ms Hill explained some of the services the charity provides which could be paid for by the money raised at their recent event in Lifton. She said: “One of the services we provide is a ‘comfort grant’. This can be given to those who have been financially impacted by the death of a family member. They can receive up to £300 and the grant can, for example, be used to buy things like school uniform for young family members, buy a new bed or anything else a family needs to get through their bereavement. Most of our comfort grants were provided to people in Cornwall last year.”

Another service the charity provides is ‘Hugs in a Hamper’. Ms Hill said: “We were quite busy over Christmas sending out hugs in a hamper, we sent an awful lot of them to Cornwall this year. The hampers contain gift items for family members of those who have committed suicide.

“Basically they contain essential and luxury/pampering items, like soaps, candles, toiletries etc to provide those dealing with a suicide loss a bit of extra help an comfort.”

Pete’s Dragons also received a donation recently from a local amateur dramatics group. Ms Hill said: “Lewannick Amateur Dramatic Society gave us a fantastic donation of £575 recently, which they raised mostly from their annual pantomime. It is always wonderful to get support from a group like that and the money is really beneficial.”

Speaking about all the support the charity has received in recent months, Ms Hill said: “It’s lovely to have had so much support. The more people know about us the more we can do to help prevent suicides in the future.

“It is all about suicide prevention and awareness and events like these help get our message out. We not only offer support for those who have experience the loss of a loved one but we offer advice on how to prevent a suicide.

“It is an uncomfortable topic to talk about, but the more we do the more we can prevent suicide from happening in the future. The more we talk about it the more suicide rates will drop!”

To find out more about the charity visit Pete’s Dragons’ website on www.petesdragons.org.uk