Give it up for National Giving Week

Howard Lake | 18 September 2006 | Newswire

Charities, individuals, companies and celebrities are getting involved in this year’s National Giving Week, which runs from 16 – 22 October.
Led by CAF (Charities Aid Foundation), the theme for this year’s campaign is Give it up for and CAF is asking people to think about what they could give up for their favourite charities.
Throughout October, CAF and eBay.co.uk are hosting the ‘Give it up for Charity Challenge’, encouraging charities and their supporters to give up items for auction. CAF is currently contacting thousands of UK charities, inviting them to take part. During the week itself, famous names such as Ewan McGregor, Rory Bremner, Emma Thompson and Chris Tarrant will be giving up personal items for a special celebrity auction, with the proceeds going to the celebrities’ favourite causes. So far, more than 100 items have been pledged.
Tommy’s the baby charity is one of the organisations to get on board, asking its celebrity supporters to give up items for the online auction. Jane Brewin, Chief Executive at Tommy’s explained: “Give it up for is such a great, simple, fundraising idea. Our celebrity supporters have led the way so bidders can take their pick from an array of fantastic items – dresses and coats from Sophie Ellis Bextor and Kate Thornton; signed CDs and DVDs from Eric Clapton and Ricky Gervais and much more! All we need now is for people to get bidding and help raise funds to save babies’ lives.”
The Carphone Warehouse is also getting involved in National Giving Week by encouraging customers and employees to give up their old mobile phones for recycling in each of its 675 stores. For every handset received The Carphone Warehouse will donate £10 to The CPW Charity Partnership.
Employees will also be encouraged to give up a regular monthly donation to their favourite charities. And because the donations will be made though Give As You Earn, the UK’s leading payroll giving scheme, they will be entirely tax-free.
Andrew Harrison, UK Chief Executive at The Carphone Warehouse explained his company’s specific commitment to National Giving Week: We are delighted to be taking part in National Giving Week. With green issues having a greater impact on our lifestyles, it is important that all organisations play a role in saving the environment. As we are responsible for bringing the widest range of the latest handsets to the population, we are committed to encouraging customers to recycle.”
To find our more about National Giving Week and the Give it up for campaign, visit www.nationalgivingweek.org. If you’re planning on giving up something to support your favourite charity, we’d love to hear about it. Get in touch by phoning Tel: 01732 520 088 or Email: fe******@na****************.org
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notes to editors
CAF
CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) is the not-for-profit organisation committed to effective giving, providing a range of specialist services to donors, businesses and charities in the UK and internationally. CAF recently launched its third annual Companies and Communities Awards which aims to recognise companies of all sizes that are investing in the community – to find out more visit www.cafonline.org/companyawards
National Giving Week
CAF’s annual awareness week encourages donors to make their giving tax-efficient, challenges companies to get more involved in their communities, and helps ensure small and medium-sized charities make the most of their fundraising.
Give As You Earn
Launched by CAF in 1987, Give As You Earn is the UK’s biggest payroll giving agency. Of the £92 million donated to charity through the payroll, £60 million is donated through Give As You Earn.
Tommy’s
Tommy’s is the only UK charity solely dedicated to maximising health in pregnancy. Tommy’s is committed to funding medical research and providing pregnancy information to help more mums and dads through a healthy pregnancy and birth.
eBay
Founded in 1995, eBay brings together millions of buyers and sellers every day. eBay for Charity provides an easy way to support charities while buying and selling on eBay.co.uk .Any seller on eBay can donate
10% to 100% of the proceeds to a charity of their choice. Charities are also able to sell their own items directly on the eBay marketplace.
The Carphone Warehouse
Established in 1989, The Carphone Warehouse is Europe’s leading independent retailer of mobile phones and services, with over 1,400 stores in 10 countries.
For all press enquiries, please call Tel: 01732 520 146/094

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.