2016 is the 25th year that Waverley Care has teamed up with The Pleasance Theatre trust and their fundraising is set to break the £400,000 barrier

During the Edinburgh festivals you often see some unusual sights but perhaps none more so than 25 comedians and charity workers careering down a hill on giant yellow space-hoppers.

However, that was the image (above) as Waverley Care and the Pleasance Theatre Trust marked their unique Fringe festival partnership which has seen £375,000 raised for the HIV and Hepatitis C organisation.

First getting together in 1992, this year is the 25th time that the Pleasance, the biggest venue at the Fringe, has opened its doors and its heart to Waverly Care with the total raised certain to break the £400,000 barrier.

“We decided we would do something a bit quirky to mark the occasion,” Karen Docwra, fundraising manager at Waverley Care told TFN of the space hopper publicity stunt.

“The partnership has seen both organisations grow and it was nice to do something different.

The festival gives us unrestricted income so we are not tied to using it for one thing and we can use it where it is really needed

“When it started we were just an Edinburgh charity, really quite small and the Pleasance was relatively small so as organisations we have grown together.

“We raised £3,800 in total in the first year but last year we raised over £30,000 from donations – and this year we are on course to increase that."

Each year the Pleasance allows a team of 50 volunteer bucket shakers to collect donations for Waverley Care inside its compound - which welcomes over half a million festival goers during August.

It also puts on a number of shows including the flagship Tartan Ribbon Comedy Benefit in aid of the charity.

Sold out again in 2016 thanks to a stellar lineup Waverley Care's coffers are set to be boosted by a record total.

For a charity, which sometimes struggles to fundraise due to a stigma attached to its cause, the opportunity is massive considering its fundraising target per annum is £450,000.

Indeed, the festival has become such a part of its fundraising calendar that it employs temporary staff to help make the most of it.

“This year we have four temporary employees,” Docwra continued.

From left to right: Larry Dean, Mark Watson, Anthony Alderson and Russell Howard at the Tartan Ribbon Comedy Benefit 2016.

“We normally only have three but this year we experimented bringing in someone in June for a couple of days a week to recruit volunteers and she has done a great job.

“It's felt as if we have been a little bit more organised and I think that will be reflected in our income.

“The nice thing, and I’m sure many charities will understand, is the festival gives us unrestricted income so we are not tied to using it for one thing and we can use it where it is really needed.

“It really is a significant amount of money for us.”

It’s not just Waverley that is celebrating the partnership. So too are the Pleasance.

It commissioned a special logo combining its logo and Waverley Care’s iconic tartan ribbon for this year’s festival.

A private event for staff, supporters of both charities and invited guests was also held this week.

Anthony Alderson, director of the Pleasance and a patron of Waverley Care, told TFN he was proud of his organisation’s support of Waverley Care.

“What has been really great is the amount of companies that very proudly stuck that logo on their posters,” he said.

“There is one million posters out there with those logos and it is just constantly reminding folk about the partnership.

“I think some sometimes during August it is easy to get swept up in the festival and the comedy, the theatre, the bars and everything else and forget that there is actually the rest of the world out there.

“Comedy is a brilliant way to get people to focus round an issue or a problem so using comedy galas or comedians as a way to support something like Waverley Care is a good thing and I think the longer we have done it the more people have taken the charity into their hearts."

You can catch a show at The Pleasance or donate to Waverley Care via its bucket shakers in the Pleasance Courtyard until 29 August.