Waltham postman in fancy dress raises £1,500 for NHS

Rob Davenport, who lives in Melton, was challenged to deliver his letters and parcels in fancy dress to help raise the spirits of people stuck at home during the current coronavirus lockdown.

He said it started out as a bit of a joke but he ended up being amazed by the response after he set up an online fundraising page.

Rob, who has been a postman for 11 years and has delivered in Waltham, Goadby Marwood and Bescaby for the last four, told the Melton Times: “I got changed into my outfit once I was at the my delivery office, which got a big cheer from my colleagues.

“Once I got into Waltham, the response was overwhelming.

“People were coming out to see me for photos, giving me gifts, putting their thumbs up to me and clapping me as I walked past.

“It just instantly put smiles on their faces, and I tried to stop to talk to as many people as I could.

“It got to a point where I’d even forgotten how silly I actually looked.

“I went over my normal finish time by over two hours but that didn’t bother me at all, I just wanted to embrace it all as not only was it making all the residents happy, it made me feel so great too.

“Even once I was back in uniform on the days after, I still had people stopping me to talk about the fancy dress day, telling me how much joy I had brought to the three villages and asking how they could sponsor me.”

Rob, who is married to Beth and has two daughters - Beatrix (7) and five-year-old Peggy, said the idea was first mentioned by a woman on his round at Waltham.

He said he would only do it if there was enough support from householders he delivered to but didn’t think there would be much interest.

“Next thing I know, I’m tagged in a Facebook post on the Waltham community page, saying that if enough people liked the post then I’d kindly dress up on delivery,” he recalled.

“I don’t remember how many ‘likes’ the post actually got, but it was enough to make me think that I’d have to go through with it now.

“Even our MP Alicia Kearns commented saying that I should do it.

“People that know me know that I act a fool the majority of the time and I don’t like to back down from a challenge, so I looked in my fancy dress box and found a multi-coloured unitard and a long, blonde wig.

“It was only once I had delivered to my first few houses, and they asked whether I was doing it for charity, I realised that I should do it for the NHS.

“I knew it was such short notice to get people to sponsor me, but I decided to set up a GoFundMe fundraising page at 9am on that morning and knew that even if I’d raise between £25 to £100 I would’ve been more than happy.

“I never would’ve thought that by 9pm on the same day, I’d be passing the £1,000 mark.”

Rob added: “My mother-in-law, Lindsey, works on the front line for the NHS and is doing an amazing job, so it was a no brainer when deciding which charity to raise money for.

“I’d just like to say a massive thank you to everybody from Waltham, Goadby Marwood, and Bescaby, that donated money to the fund.

“Also a massive thank you to my friends, family, and colleagues who also sponsored me.

“I hope I made you all smile, and your day that tiny bit brighter.”

Go to www.gofundme.com/f/walthamdressupdelivery to pledge money for Rob’s efforts in aid of NHS Charities Together.