Gnashional Menace Day

A group of young Beano fans, all undergoing treatment for cancer at University College London Hospital joined their hero Dennis the Menace to launch Gnashional Menace Day, which takes place this Saturday 2nd August to celebrate 70 years of The Beano comic and raise money for CLIC Sargent.

The children met Nigel Parkinson, illustrator of the cartoon character Dennis the Menace and watched him in action drawing a special sketch featuring the children and some of the Beano’s best loved characters.

After 70 years of causing mischief Dennis the Menace and his friends are encouraging kids across the UK to raise money for CLIC Sargent by pulling pranks and telling jokes on Gnashional Menace Day, Saturday 2nd August.

Taking part in Gnashional Menace Day is easy and promises to be menacing fun!

There are two ways to raise funds by raising laughs:

• Tell your sponsor as many jokes as you can in one minute, and collect a donation for every giggle, guffaw or belly laugh you get!
  
• On Saturday 2nd August, we want you to try and catch as many people out as you can with harmless and easy pranks. Each time someone falls for your prank, they give you 50p to donate to CLIC Sargent.

The 40 page birthday issue of the Beano - on sale Wednesday 30th July, will contain loads of ideas plus an amazing FREE Gnashional Menace Day kit packed with pranks to use on the day too!

Extra sponsor forms (or for those unlucky to miss out on what is anticipated to be a sell-out issue) can be downloaded from www.beanotown.com or by clicking here.

ENDS
    
For more information please contact Zoe Grumbridge, CLIC Sargent Press Officer on: 07917 805489 or email: zoe.grumbridge@clicsargent.org.uk. 

Background information:

The Beano has teamed up with the UK’s leading children’s cancer charity CLIC Sargent to encourage kids across the UK to be a little mischievous, pull their own pranks and tell jokes to raise money and celebrate 70 years of Dennis the Menace and his friends.

The Beano comic first hit our shelves in 1938 and was even published weekly during the Second World War. Today, over 4000 issues later, 100,000 children pay 99p every week for Britain’s favourite comic.

The 70th anniversary edition of the Beano will feature plenty of ideas for pranks and jokes so that children can be ready for Gnashional Menace Day. If each reader raises just a few pounds, CLIC Sargent will be able to provide vital care and support to the 10 children and young people diagnosis with cancer every day in the UK.