World goes dotty with Brodie from Wainfleet

A massive £1,085 was raised when best friends Leanne Blair and Leesa Higgins held a fundraising Wear Dots Raise Lots day at the local Co-operative Food Store for the RNIB READ charity.

The charity was chosen because Leesa’s son, Brodie, was born blind – but it was when the event was posted with the tag #weardots on Instagram by Leanne’s brother, Mark, via the Bearded Villains UK Facebook chat room, that it attracted interest from as far away as France and America.

Altogether there were 271 posts, with total strangers donning dotty onesies and T-Shirts or having their nails painted with dots. The RNIBUK posted: “Huge thanks to the @beardedvillains for taking part in #weardots campaign. Also thanks to Brodie, their inspiration for joining in.”

Leesa said: “I didn’t realise how much support and words of encouragement there was from the community. Grown men with beards wore dots of some form and someone in America even sent a portrait of Brodie for us to frame.”

She added: “It was highly emotional and overwhelming.

“To see the support for visually impaired people and Brodie’s name being used around the country and the world as far as America made me very proud of all involved and of my little boy.“

Those who took part in the event at the Co-op were sponsored for wearing dots for the day. There was a cake stall, games and a prize draw thanks to generous donations from businesses in Wainfleet and Skegness. Brodie’s big brother, Connor, was sponsored to have 36 tins of rice pudding poured over his head, raising £200. Wainfleet Magdalen School also held a non-uniform day.

Leesa said: “I feel it’s important to make donations and support charities that are available to help Brodie.

“I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved – the community of Wainfleet and those around the world.”