“It can be fun. It can be stressful. But at the end of the day it’s for a good cause” – Ceremonial mayor of Salford raising £30,000 for charity

Councillor John Mullen, the Ceremonial Mayor of Salford, wants to raise £30,000, split between three charities before the end of his term.

John Mullen has many important roles as the Ceremonial Mayor of Salford, one of which is raising money for charities in Salford.

The Ceremonial Mayor’s main job in office is to chair the Council Debates and ensure everybody gets a fair and equitable time to make speeches.

As a charity fundraiser, he was able to choose three charities.

He wanted them all to be Salford based, and chose The Salfordian Hotel, Salford by the Sea and Andrew Cooke Music Trust.

The Salfordian Hotel gives free holidays to lonely pensioners and disabled people with carers who usually struggle to get away.

The second charity he chose was Salford by the Sea which helps children and families of low incomes go on holidays.

His final charity is the Andrew Cooke Music Trust which helps young people with mental health issues buy instruments and pay for school tuition.

He said: “it is up to me to try and raise as much funds as I can. So I have literally gone all out and have set a target of £30,000 this year, to give them each £10,000.”

As a part of his role, he arranges a lot of these charity events in an attempt to raise as much money as possible.

Councillor Mullen says: “It is so hard.

“You have to organise these events, get bodies to these events, and then separate these people from their cash.

“So, it can be fun. It can be stressful. But at the end of the day, it’s for a good cause so I don’t mind doing it.”

On the 12^th of this month, he arranged and hosted an Elvis Tribute night. Which was a sold-out event, with constant requests for more tickets.

When asked why he picked and Elvis tribute night he spoke about being a big Elvis fan and going to many Elvis tribute nights himself.

He said: “…it’s nice to be able to go to that because while I enjoy it too, I know the public out there have an appetite for it.”

Councillor Mullen highlights the importance of picking events that the public will “love, like and support”.

To see more about the events run by Councillor John Mullen, visit https://www.salford.gov.uk/your-council/ceremonial-mayor-of-salford/upcoming-charity-events/ .