Three hospice retail managers took window dressing to another level and raised almost £500!

Jenny Riding, 27, Annie McMurtary, 32, and Julia Bishop, 30, were among a group of women who had their bodies painted head to toe in animal print as they stood in the window of The Retailery in Market Place, Romford on Saturday (June 23).

“I decided to join 6 other brave ladies to do this confidence boosting event for the second year running,” said Jenny, who is the Retail Manager at the charity’s Upminster retail store, and was transformed into a zebra.

“Each one of us was raising money for our chosen charities and I decided to raise money for Saint Francis Hospice as it is a charity close to my heart.

“I was a little nervous to begin with, however, the atmosphere was so upbeat and everyone was buzzing that my insecurities soon disappeared.

“There were ladies of various shapes and sizes, however, we all had a strong woman powerful feeling!”

Annie, who is the Retail Manager at the electrical store in Romford, who became a panda for the day, said,”It was a very empowering experience.

“We were all there for different reasons but we developed a bond straight away and the response from the public was great on the whole.”

Julia Bishop, who is the Manager at the Hornchurch general store, chose to be a brightly coloured snake!

Julia added, “It was something that really caught people’s attention and raise awareness of our chosen charities.

“It was a scary thing to do but it was fun and I am really glad I did it.”

And the ladies enjoyed it so much they’ve already planned to do it all over again next year!