Charity raffle to win bottle of gin memorabilia raises over £200 for mental health charity

A raffle to win a bottle of Aviation gin has raised over £260 in aid of Wrexham mental health and wellbeing charity.

The bottle was kindly donated by The Saith Seren Welsh Centre after they had a special delivery of three cases of Aviation gin from Ryan Reynolds, just days after the Deadpool film star and his fellow actor Rob McElhenny were allowed to take ownership of Wrexham AFC.

The gin cases were accompanied by a cryptic note from the man himself that reads: “To the folks at Saith Seren: Some for you and some for me. Hopefully see you soon – Ryan Reynolds.”

Saith Seren teamed up with local mental health and wellbeing charity, Advance Brighter Futures (ABF), which has helped more than 700 people across the area.

The winner of the raffle and proud owner of the piece of local history was Leon Bowen.

The raffle has also helped to raise vital funds which ABF can now put towards helping local people as it continues to offer its wellbeing services through the ongoing pandemic.

Cath Taylor, business development officer at Advance Brighter Futures, said: “Thank you so much to Saith Seren for choosing us and a massive thanks also goes to everyone who took the time to buy a ticket.

“The pandemic has had a huge impact on mental health, and as a small charity we’ve relied on fundraising to help us work through this challenging period.

“There is a big demand for our services in the local area, and more people will now be able to use them because of these ticket sales. Even if you didn’t win, you should be proud of yourself.

“I’m sure that Ryan will be delighted that his gin has helped to raise money for a number of Wrexham charities recently, and we are so pleased to be one of them.”