The lion, the witch and the costumed fundraiser

A woman in a fancy dress outift that has a lion on it standing in between two people in yellow t-shirts. They are standing in a gym in front of weight machines.Image source, Julianne Moroz
Image caption,

Ms Moroz's costume this year incorporates three elements from a beloved children's classic

  • Published

A gym instructor is completing fitness classes dressed as all three titular characters from a beloved C.S Lewis Narnia classic.

Julianne Moroz, 56, from Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, is fundraising for Children in Need while in costume that combines not only the lion, but the witch and wardrobe too.

The charity helped her family two decades ago when she took her then seven-year-old son to a support group it funded.

Ms Moroz, 56, has been raising money for the charity every year since.

"My older son was looking after my younger one and helping me, it was overwhelming for him," said Ms Moroz who has type 1 diabetes, which restricts movement in her hands.

"It gave him a break, just for a few hours a week to be himself and enjoy being a normal little boy."

Ms Moroz added the support her family received from Spurgeons, external, had spurred her on to keep raising money and she now dressed up as a different character every year for her classes at Easy Circuit Gym at Ashmore Park.

Three people standing in a gym in front of weight lifting machines. The woman in the middle is wearing a fancy dress costume that incorporates The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe from the C.S Lewis novel. The two people beside her are wearing yellow Children in Need tops with Pudsey Bear on. Image source, Julianne Moroz
Image caption,

Ms Moroz shares the non-lion portion of her get-up

The 56-year-old, who has been a gym instructor for 40 years, said her annual challenges tended to have a theme linked to a book or film that had been celebrated that year.

In previous years, Ms Moroz said she had created her own Batman and Barbie characters, with this year's outfit inspired by the 75th anniversary of the publication of the C.S Lewis novel.

A woman who is dressed up in a Batman costume, with a black cape, a black bat head. They are standing in a gym and are wearing yellow boxing gloves which have a picture of Pudsey Bear attached to them. Weightlifting machines are in the background.  Image source, Julianne Moroz
Image caption,

Ms Moroz has been dressing up to raise money for Children in Need for two decades

She described herself as the "fun middle-man" for the charity and said last year she raised £748.56.

"A lot of the people I teach can't donate online or text, so I'm happy to dress up, and collect donations in a bucket to take to the bank," she said.

"It's gone from a few pounds, to hundreds of pounds. I was in tears last year because with everything going on in the world, I didn't expect that amount.

"I think people are generous because they know the money comes back to the Midlands," she said.

"I do enjoy dressing up so it's an excuse to do it."

A woman in a fancy dress nurses outfit standing in front of weight machines in a gym.Image source, Julianne Moroz
Image caption,

Another past costume for the classes she takes at Easy Circuit Gym at Ashmore Park in Wednesfield

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