Every year we run various charitable initiatives throughout the convention
and we elect a different charity to support each time.
This year HotaruCon 3 Ring Circus will be fundraising for the Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT).
AKT are the only national charity dedicated to providing support for LGBTQ+ 16-25 year olds at risk or currently experiencing homelessness. They believe that no one should have to choose between a safe home and being who they are.
Charity Events at HotaruCon
Bring and Buy: 8.5% of all sales at the Bring and Buy go towards the Con Charity.
PopUp Vendors: We
lay out some tables around the Cosplay Café which are yours to occupy
and sell your wares in exchange for a minimum donation of £10 to the Con
Charity (though you can always top that up if you wish!). These are for attendees who want to try peddling their products
at a convention without the pressure of committing a whole weekend,
buying in enough stock and ransacking Ikea for table dressing. You can even treat yourself to some cake while you're there!
This is a first-come-first-served opportunity. You don't need to pre-register, just line up at Ops for 1pm on Sunday of the Con with your box of goodies and we'll guide you from there.
Cosplay Cafe: Doesn't everyone fancy a bit of tea and cake on a Sunday afternoon? Indulge yourself and enjoy the service of our Cosplay Maids. There's games to play and you can even get polaroids with the maids! All profits go to the Con Charity.
Charity Auction: At the closing ceremony we hold an auction of donations from vendors, committee, attendees, A4 size prints of that year's badge art, a complete set of regular size badges and anything else we can think of in the moment...
Misc donations: If you have any loose change you want to donate, the Closing Ceremony is the perfect time to do so
We're always open to initiatives from and suggested by attendees so if you have any ideas, just let us know!
Previous Con Charities and Fundraising Totals:
HotaruCon 2: We are please to announce we raised £3000 for Stonewall UK over the weekend.
That includes £424 from the Bring and Buy, £673 from the Cosplay Cafe, £111 from the Raffle tickets, £110 from Light Wand sales, £66.33 from the Pop up Vendors, £1239.69 from the Charity Auction and cash donations of £504.98 (with a little top up from us to round it up ✨ )
HotaruCon: We are very pleased to announce we raised 1459.15 for MIND over the weekend.
That includes £720 Charity Auction bids, £171.27 Bring and Buy, £10 Pop up Vendors, £308 Cosplay Cafe, £190 cash and £59.88 change from the Closing Ceremony.