Mental health charity to benefit from Kirkcaldy artist's raffle

Dominika Valente, 20, will raffle off the piece title Beside You to raise funds for Andy’s Man Club. Dominika is taking on the fundraising project in honour of what would have been a friend’s 21st birthday, and she said the project will hopefully have a wide impact.

She said: “This is for our partners, our sons, our brothers, our dads, our friends and family, our coworkers and every other person out there who fights the hardest battle of their life just waking up in the morning. This is for a brighter future.

“This project was important for me to inspire the local community and touch the lives of people who are silently facing their own battles. I think everyone deserves to know they’re important and if even one person benefits from this then my work is done.”

The piece is made using a technique known as paper quilling and depicts a red stag amongst wildflowers. Explaining the piece, Dominika said each element is representative of men and mental health.

She explained: “The Stag is a representative of men, while red deer specifically are native to Scotland so I felt this would appeal to a local audience.

“The flowers are a mixture of thistles and heather, also native to Scotland, but subtly portraying the colours of the suicide awareness ribbon.

“Lastly, the Monarch Butterfly perched among the flowers. Monarch butterflies are a common symbol of mental health, but this one explicitly is there to provide companionship to the stag.”

Raffle entries cost £5 each and you can grab your tickets at: https://gofund.me/e8ef7dd7. For those who can’t donate, Dominika said it is important that people check in on those people in their lives who may be struggling.

She said: “Understandably, not everyone will be in a financial position to enter the draw, so instead; take the time to send the text, make the call, see the person and have that catch-up you keep thinking about. Ten minutes out of your day might change someone’s life.”

The raffle will close on Friday, December 8 at 8pm and the draw will take place at the Dunfermline AMC on Monday, December 11.