An illustrator from East Lancashire has raised £1,000 for an inclusive dance charity based in in the borough.

The money raised was presented to the charity named 'DanceSyndrome' at an event attended by special guest, Chorley MP and Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle. 

Josh Vosper, from Chorley and owner of illustration business 'Joshy Draws', creates bespoke drawings and illustrations.

DanceSyndrome’s ethos focuses on demonstrating that people with learning disabilities can live fulfilled lives and contribute to society, with the right support and every DanceSyndrome activity has a person with a learning disability in a visible leadership role.

Josh saw an opportunity to link up with other local businesses and give back to his community, calling on fellow Chorley companies to donate prizes for the fundraiser.  

He said: “The first time I went to a workshop, I was absolutely blown away and couldn’t help but feel inspired.

"It was full of sheer joy and happiness, emphasising what people with learning disabilities are able to do.”

Alongside being an illustrator, Josh is a support worker, and first came across DanceSyndrome by taking his service users to one of their workshops.

Josh added: “From that moment I decided it would be amazing to create a fundraiser for the charity and combine it with Joshy Draws.

"Raising £1,000 was such a wonderful achievement and I’d like to thank every single person who entered the competition.”

Lancashire Telegraph:

DanceSyndrome managing director, Julie Nicholson, said: “We’re really fortunate to have backing from some incredible funding bodies, but they only partly fund our work, so fundraising efforts like Josh’s are absolutely vital to us being able to continue our life-changing work.

"DanceSyndrome transforms lives for people with learning disabilities because we provide a genuinely inclusive environment for everyone to dance, learn and create.

“Nobody else is creating opportunities like this in the dance world and we are really proud of what we do.”