Exeter Northcott hits stretch target of gifting 750 Christmas theatre tickets

Exeter Northcott has reached its stretch goal of gifting 750 tickets for family Christmas show Robin Hood to children, young people and carers in Devon through its Pay It Forward audience donation campaign.

The theatre had already achieved its initial end-of-year aim of giving away 500 tickets through the scheme to people who might not otherwise be able to experience the magic of theatre at Christmas in October.

In total, 1234 people donated £12,559 towards the Northcott’s Pay It Forward campaign this year.

The Northcott is gifting the 750 Pay It Forward tickets through partner organisations including Capstone Foster Care, Exeter Community Initiatives, The Helen Foundation, the YMCA, Young Carers and Young Devon.

On the lasting impact of the Northcott’s three-year Pay it Forward campaign, a Support Worker at The Helen Foundation said:

“Last year, we applied for some tickets for a lady that I was supporting with an Early Help plan. She accepted the tickets and took her son to the theatre to see A Christmas Carol.

We fed back to the Northcott her experience, which was heart-warming, as the mum had experienced a violent domestic situation, which not only left her having to rebuild her life with her child but lacking severely in confidence.

After going to the panto, she decided that she could rebuild their lives. She got herself a job so that she could fund further visits to the theatre. They no longer needed my support with a plan, but the son visits my office to let me know how they are getting on and mum will often update me when I see her. Their visit to the panto unlocked their world.”

People can learn more about supporting the Northcott’s community activities at exeternorthcott.co.uk/about-us/support-us/