Hercule Van Wolfwinkle, aka Phil Heckels of Worthing, embarked on a Portrait Marathon to fundraise for two local charities, Turning Tides and StreetVet last Sunday (May 14).
The 2022 JustGiving Fundraiser of the Year began his walk to Brighton and back from Worthing Promenade at 7am,. reaching the finish line at 8:30pm, covering over 26.2 miles. The dedicated fundraiser stopped at each mile to complete one of his quirky pet portraits selected from photo entries submitted by some of his 240,000 online fans.
Hercule took on the challenge to raise vital funds to support Turning Tides, a local charity supporting people on their pathways out of homelessness, and StreetVet, a national charity working to keep homeless people and their pets healthy and together.
Throughout his journey he was joined by Turning Tides and StreetVet staff and volunteers, friends, family and supporters who all walked some of the way or were there to cheer him on.
Hercule regularly shared Facebook Live videos to keep his social media followers up to date. Since he began fundraising for this challenge, Hercule has raised over £10,000.
Ruth Poyner, Head of Fundraising and Communications at Turning Tides, said:
“It's an incredible feat to complete this challenge and raise such a fantastic amount. He brought smiles to many on Sunday as he livestreamed his one-of-a-kind portraits and was seen walking along in yellow Y-fronts - which are a signature addition to many of his pet portraits!
"The Portrait Marathon was a big physical challenge, and it was wonderful to see such support throughout. The donations are vital as we see the cost-of-living crisis hugely increasing the need for our services.”
The artist began drawing his self-proclaimed ‘rubbish’ portraits of people’s pets for commission in 2020, with funds going to the two charities. He is now internationally known for his animal portraits with media from all over the world picking up on his story.
His journey started one afternoon when he was doodling a picture of his dog, which he posted on Facebook; little did he know that post would go viral, and his work would soon be in high demand with requests from all over the globe for portraits flooding into his inbox in their tens of thousands.
To date, Hercule has raised over an incredible £200,000 for the two charities and, as homelessness escalates, he is determined to raise more much-needed money to support Turning Tides as the charity is faced with raising £650k in 2023 to support its crucial services throughout the year.
Find out more by visiting Hercule Van Wolfwinkle's Facebook page @portraitsbyhercule.
To donate, visit Hercule’s JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/portraitsbyhercule.
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