KING COEL’S KITTENS

For 60 years, King Coel’s Kittens, a local charitable fundraising group, has been raising funds to provide tangible items to groups of people with special requirements living in the local community. The group, founded by Bill Tucker, a former county newspaper journalist, started in 1962 to raise funds for the paper’s annual Miss Colchester competition. They invited young representatives from local organizations across the town to form a committee to raise funds to financially support the competition. The group enjoyed their first year of fundraising and decided to continue raising funds for other groups within the local community. The group never gives money to an organization or pays for overheads; they always pay for the purchase of tangible items from which many people within a special group can benefit. Over the years, they have organized several events, including the Christmas tree collection around the streets of Colchester, markets, tiddlywink race, Millennium events in the town, and the annual Fireworks Spectacular in Castle Park, which has lasted for 51 years. Every year, 8000 people pack the park to see this annual event.