Rainbow-bearded man raises hundreds of pounds in animal charity shave-off
A man has raised hundreds of pounds for charity after vowing to shave off his seven-year-old beard - which is now rainbow-coloured.
Pete Mosey, from Llanelli, challenged himself to lose the facial fuzz to raise funds for Llys Nini Animal Rescue Centre, which has seen huge financial losses during the pandemic.
The centre is funded through events and their charity shops, both of which have had to be cancelled or closed due to coronavirus restrictions.
He has so far raised more than £700, and hopes the shave-off will help exceed that figure.
Pete was inspired to set up the fundraiser as one of his dog Pablo's canine friends is an ambassador for the charity.
He explained: "I've chosen Llys Nini as one of Pablo's best friends is a rescued role ambassador for the centre, and Pablo insisted we help out Mr. Pugsley's fellow animal pals that haven't found their fur-ever homes yet like we have."
He said is expecting many people not to recognise him without his beard.
"I've had my beard for seven years, and it is one of my most defining features. Many people won't know what I look like without it," he continued.
"Because I had such a great response to the big shave-off, I decided that I would dye my beard when I hit £500. The colour chosen for me was rainbow! I hit that target on Friday and dyed my beard on Saturday."
Pete explained: "I've chosen Llys Nini as due to the ongoing pandemic, they haven't been able to raise as much money as they normally would do when they could have their shop open and run events and fundraisers.
"They are an independently run, self-funding charity based in south Wales committed to providing animal welfare services in the area.
"The branch is affiliated with the national RSPCA but receives no automatic funding from it, which means they need to raise £800,000 a year to cover their running costs."
Llys Nini launched an appeal for donations in 2020 to help support it through the crisis. It raised more than £18,000.