A CHRISTIAN charity which usually helps tackle people's debt problems is taking on a different type of fight with a fundraising night of wrestling.
The event has been arranged by one of Christians Against Poverty's (CAP) workers who is also a professional wrestler.
The hope is that wrestling fans will learn about the charity through video messages sharing clients' stories and be moved to donate.
Organiser Gareth Thompson said: "The night will be very family friendly. There’ll be larger than life characters and lots of fun.
"The main fundraising avenue will be ticket sales and you’ll also have a tuck shop on site as well. We’ll give people the opportunity to donate to the charity too.
"There’s going to be about four or five matches and in between there’ll be videos explaining to people what CAP is with some clients' stories.
"The main reason is so the public come along and come to a wrestling show but at the same time, we raise awareness of what CAP is.
"We thought we’d tie it in with the fight against poverty and wrestling hooks into that quite nicely."
CAP was started by John Kirkby in Bradford in 1996 and offers debt counselling support to people with financial problems.
It can negotiate with creditors on the person’s behalf and arrange a repayment plan, or there are insolvency options for people whose debts are too large against their income.
The charity has received national acclaim for its work including the Sunday Times Best Not-for-Profit Organisation to Work for 2015.
A spokesman for CAP said: "We are used to fighting poverty here at CAP but it doesn’t usually mean wrestling people to the floor! It usually means tackling creditors on behalf of people who have financial problems.
"Gareth is a great member of our team here at CAP’s head office, manning the phones and talking to church representatives. We’re really looking forward to seeing him with his cape flapping behind him.
"We would like to say all power to Gareth’s elbow but frankly that might be dangerous, in the circumstances!"
The service is free and available to everyone regardless of age, gender, faith or background. CAP also runs job clubs, money education courses and release groups to help people become free of life-controlling dependencies.
The event will be held on Saturday, May 2 at the Jubilee Centre on Jermyn Street, Bradford. It runs from 6pm until 9.30pm, with the first bell at 6.30pm and every penny raised will go to the charity.
Tickets are priced at £8 for adults and £5 for children. To book, visit www.fightagainstpoverty.eventbrite.co.uk or call 07583 454640.
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