Fat Dog superheroes raise funds for charity

Dressed as superheroes, Fat Dog cafe staff helped raised thousands of dollars for a local charity at a fundraiser on Saturday.

The popular cafe made the most of the big crowds on election day and donated its day's profit to the Life Education Rotorua Trust, which teaches children how to make informed choices about their health, respecting others and appreciating their uniqueness.

Fat Dog Cafe manager Martin Kroese said staff, who had worked the day for free, had made the most of the opportunity and dressed up as their favourite superheroes - his being Thor.

"It was a fantastic day. It was great that the customers got behind the cause and we had nothing but positive feedback" he said.

While final numbers would not be known until later this week, more than $6000 was raised for the charity.

This year marks the sixth year the cafe has held such a fundraiser for the trust.

"It's definitely a worthy cause. It's a local charity too, meaning the money will be spent locally and will help kids in Rotorua, which is awesome."

The money donated would go towards upgrades to the trust's portable classroom and installing new technology.

It costs about $125,000 a year to run the programme in Rotorua.

Mr Kroese said he wanted to thank all those who were involved in the fundraiser, and all customers who had bought meals, or even just a cup of coffee, to help the cause.

Nationwide, the Life Education Trust's travelling classrooms and mascot Harold the Giraffe reach 245,000 primary and intermediate children every year.