The Star Wars-themed costuming group is bringing characters from the film franchise to various locations in Yorkshire, to raise funds and awareness for children’s cancer.
Founded in 2013, Sentinel Squad UK is a Star Wars fandom group based in Yorkshire, which raises money for local children’s charities. Members of Sentinel Squad UK travel to different events and locations dressed as Star Wars characters, collecting donations and raising awareness of their chosen charity.
The 80-plus members of Sentinel Squad UK bring a huge range of Star Wars costumes to their outings – from Darth Vader and Stormtroopers to Princess Leia and four very large Wookies! By encouraging passers-by to stop and have their photo taken with their favourite character, the Sentinel Squad UK members are able to engage with people to spread awareness about their chosen charity and collect donations.
Each year, Sentinel Squad UK selects a different Yorkshire-based children’s charity to support for a 12-month period. As a non-profit organisation, with no overheads or administrative fees, Sentinel Squad UK can give 100% of the funds they collect to their chosen charity. Its members even fund all their expenses themselves – from paying for their own travel to making their own costumes.
Sentinel Squad UK is currently supporting children with cancer and their families, after selecting Candlelighters as their chosen charity. Based in Leeds, Candlelighters offers emotional, practical and financial support to families facing childhood cancer all across Yorkshire.
Since beginning their support for Candlelighters in 2022, Sentinel Squad UK have travelled all over Yorkshire to raise funds and awareness – appearing at shopping centres and public spaces, attending various events, and meeting lots of people along the way. They even brought some Star Wars magic to the Candlelighters 2022 Family Christmas Party in Bradford, when the 400-plus family members who attended were greeted by Star Wars characters upon arrival.
Mark McFarlane, Founder of Sentinel Squad UK, said: “Including our current collecting for Candlelighters, we have now raised over £150,000 for charitable causes, with 100% being donated to various charities over the years. We are all extremely proud of what we have managed to achieve. Not bad for a bunch of space opera-loving nerds!”
Iain Blackwood-Hobbs, Partnerships Executive at Candlelighters, said: “Charity partnerships and fundraisers can take different forms – from raffles and golf days to running a marathon – but our new partnership with Sentinel Squad UK is quite unique. Who would have thought Champ, the Candlelighters mascot, would be lining up alongside Darth Vader and his Storm Troopers?! We are really excited to be working with Mark and his team this year as they travel across Yorkshire to raise money for Candlelighters and to help us deliver our services to families. If you see a Wookie, a Storm Trooper or Kylo Ren in a shopping centre near you, be sure to stop for a photo or two.”
Sentinel Squad UK have various of appearances booked in across Yorkshire. Anyone wanting to say hello and have a photo with their favourite Star Wars character can find them at the following locations and events:
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Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th April – Manchester Central Convention Complex, Manchester
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Sunday 23rd April – Scarborough Spa, Scarborough
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Sunday 30th April –The Ridings Shopping Centre, Wakefield
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Saturday 27th May – White Rose Shopping Centre, Leeds
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Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th June – Junction 32 Shopping Centre, Castleford
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Saturday 8th July – Games Temple, 381 Harehills Lane, Leeds
LS9 6AP
For more information about Sentinel Squad UK, visit sentinelsquaduk.com/. More details of their events can be found on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/thesentinelsquaduk
You can find out more about the work Candlelighters does on their website at
www.candlelighters.org.uk.
