# Two-year partnership turns into five and raises £1.5 million for Newlife - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/04/26/two-year-partnership-turns-five-raises-1-5m-newlife/ - Published: 2018-04-26T07:23:27+01:00 - Author: Melanie May **A partnership between Central England Co-operative and Newlife that was intended to last two years has run for five, raising £1.5m for the charity.** Employees of [Central England Co-operative](https://www.centralengland.coop/) had voted [Newlife](http://newlifecharity.co.uk/) as its Charity of the Year for 2012/ 13, with a diary of fundraising activities to provide specialist equipment for disabled children across the retailer’s trading area. The partnership last for five years however, with Central England Co-op employees undertaking a host of fundraising activities throughout the years including in-store cake sales, sparkle parties, raffles, skydives, challenge events and the London Marathon. ## Advertisement [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/) The impact of working with the charity on staff, customers and the community, as well as its guarantee that any money raised by Central England Co-operative would be used locally were key factors in the partnership’s longevity. Sarah Ashton, PR Manager for Central England Co-op said: > “Really early on in our fundraising partnership with Newlife it was clear that > working with the charity was having a positive impact on our colleague engagement, > customers and wider community, so we chose to extend the partnership. > “Working with a charity for so many years in succession was unprecedented for > Central England Co-op and the level of colleague engagement was remarkable throughout > from board level right the way to the shop floor.” > “What struck us about Newlife was its ability to provide a 100% guarantee, so > any money raised through our stores and funeral homes would be spent to buy desperately > needed disability equipment for a child within a two mile radius of a particular > store. “For our colleagues, the knowledge that the money they raise will help > one of their own customers was a huge incentive. And for customers, knowing the > local community would benefit directly instead of it being spent across the UK > was a big motivator.” Sustainability and environmental performance also played a role in developing the long-term partnership between the two organisations. Newlife is the preferred recycling partner for more than 200 leading high-street fashion brands and retailers including River Island, Marks and Spencer and Primark. Nora Smith, Head of Community Fundraising & Appeals for Newlife, said: > “Newlife’s commercial recycling division generates yearly profits of around £ > 2.2million, from selling end of line, de-labelled stock donated to us by high > street fashion and homeware brands. The income from sales of the fashion and homeware > stock sold through our six stores around the Midlands enables Newlife to meet > its charitable objectives. “The benefit for partners, such as Central England > Co-op, is that every penny raised through their community fundraising efforts > is spent directly on helping children locally within their trading area.” * **[Barnardo’s NI and PwC partnership wins award](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/06/19/barnardos-ni-pwc-partnership-wins-award/)**( 19 June 2018) * **[International Statement of Ethical Principles approved at Summit](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/07/06/international-statement-ethical-principles-approved-summit/)**( 6 July 2018) * **[All 2018 charity annual return questions now available to view](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/08/13/all-2018-charity-annual-return-questions-now-available-view/)**( 13 August 2018) ![Loading](https://fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/page-views-count/ajax-loader- 2x.gif)