Even if you think that you are not good at everything, we just want to tell you there is nothing on this earth that you can’t do. You can also take it as this week’s motivation, but it is a fact. And to prove this thing, we have brought a great story of a man who has never drawn in his life. However, with his funny doodling skills, he has collected 13.6k pounds for charity.
Yes, you have read that right! Here, we are talking about Phil Heckels, a dad from Worthing in England. He is known by his artistic name alias Hercule Van Wolfwinkle and has raised nearly 18k dollars. It all started when Hercule was making ‘thank you’ cards with his son. For the cards, he did some doodle and uploaded them on Facebook. After some of his friends praised him, he came up with this idea.
He told us that “the requests for portraits have gone through the roof. I have no way of counting the messages in my Facebook inbox, but I think there must be approximately 2,000, maybe more. I have had to slow down the output a little over these couple of days due to all of the media commitments taking up time, but hopefully, people will bear with me and I hope to be back to drawing 3-5 portraits per day which have probably been about my average.”
The Head of Fundraising and Communications at Turning Tides, Ruth Poyner told us that “We, at Turning Tides, are absolutely thrilled by the amazing talent, energy, and enthusiasm Phil (aka Hercule Van Wolfwinkle) has poured into his Pet Portraits. Phil and all his avid supporters have not only raised a staggering £10,000+ in just a month, in support of our charity; he has also increased awareness of the rising numbers of homeless men and women in our community.”
“We are facing an unprecedented need for our services in West Sussex and are greatly concerned as we enter the winter months, how the ongoing pandemic will have an impact on the hundreds of men and women we already support but also those who will inevitably become homeless and need our support as the economic consequences of Covid take effect.”
“Phil is exceptionally self-effacing but he has really brought a smile to so many at such a difficult time. Additionally, to know the donations from his much-beloved pet portraits will also have a lasting positive impact on the most vulnerable people in our community is really very special.”
While explaining about the charity’s mission, Poyner told us a few things. She said that “turning Tides believe that everyone has the right to a home, regardless of the difficulties they may face in their lives. The work we undertake to empower homeless and insecurely housed individuals is vital.”
“Through a variety of specialist support services, both residential and community-based, the aim for each person is that they are empowered to fulfill their potential and secure a brighter future. Turning Tides is the largest provider of homeless services for single people throughout West Sussex. We run 22 properties in various locations across the county and we are firmly committed to ending local homelessness. For over 28 years, we have supported thousands of rough sleepers and homeless men and women.”
“After a couple of shares, I started getting requests from people I didn’t know asking for portraits. That’s when I set up the Facebook page Pet Portraits By Hercule. And the JustGiving page, which is raising money for my local homelessness charity, Turning Tides. I was having fun drawing the pictures. Also, people seemed to enjoy laughing at them. And if we could make a bit of money for a brilliant cause in the process—great!”
Hercule’s Facebook page is followed by nearly 10.6k people. Seeing the number of followers, it seems like people are really into ‘rubbish’ pet pics.
