Turning telephone boxes into defibrillator stations, & other corporate partnership news
Melanie May | 10 July 2023 | News
To kick off Monday morning, here’s a raft of news snippets on how a range of organisations are supporting UK charities – from turning phone boxes into defibrillator stations, to a new initiative raising funds for a pets charity by getting the public to submit photos of their dogs.
British Coatings Federation celebrates a decade of support for Community Heartbeat Trust
The British Coatings Federation (BCF) has donated more than £100,000 and transformed over 750 unused red phone boxes into defibrillator stations in this time, through the Minutes Matter campaign. In June, BCF held its third annual charity bike ride in support of Community Heartbeat Trust (CHT). This year’s event had a record-breaking 83 riders who raised over £19,000 for CHT. This builds on the more than £25,000 raised in previous years’ bike rides and donations from various BCF events. BCF has been working alongside CHT since 2013, through the Minutes Matter campaign. BCF members use their expertise to provide a paint system of undercoat and traditional red topcoat (worth around £75) to every local community that installs a defibrillator in a disused phone box. BCF members have given approximately £56,000 worth of paint to transform the phone boxes into defibrillator stations.
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Champions UK Plc raises £2.5mn for local hospice
Champions UK Plc has now raised £2.5mn for local hospice Rainbows, which supports children and families across the Midlands. The latest fundraising event was a charity dinner held at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium, hosted by sports star and broadcaster Gail Emms MBE, with guests included cricketing legend Sir Geoffrey Boycott OBE, Geoff Miller OBE and Matthew Hoggard. A charity auction held on the night also helped to raise thousands of pounds for Rainbows. Earlier in the year, Champions UK Plc also raised funds for the hospice at the Business Fives final.
Kellogg’s to support STV Children’s Appeal’s Big Scottish Breakfast
The STV Children’s Appeal’s Big Scottish Breakfast fundraising campaign is back for 2023 – and, for the first time, this year’s initiative will be supported by Kellogg’s. The cereal giant is getting behind the campaign, which brings communities together every year to share breakfast and raise money for children affected by poverty in Scotland. Kellogg’s has been a supporter of school breakfast clubs across the UK for 25 years, with the company’s Breakfast Club Network providing cash grants and free food to over 3000 clubs since 1998. This year’s Big Scottish Breakfast event takes place between 11-15 September.
Crayola supports Spread A Smile’s hospital arts initiatives
Crayola has joined forces with Spread A Smile to help fund in person arts initiatives to children during their hospital stay. Crayola will be donating hundreds of Colour Pencils, SuperTips and Crayons over the next 10 months and will be volunteering as a team later in the year to help the charity pack and distribute Christmas presents to patients. Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon, who has supported the charity for many years, recently visited children at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington with Crayola.
Quilter Foundation partners with The Brokerage
The Quilter Foundation, the charity of wealth manager Quilter, has announced a new three-year partnership with social mobility charity, The Brokerage. Following an extensive consultation process, The Brokerage was selected as a Quilter Foundation employment partner in recognition of its experience and track record in its field. The partnership will fund the expansion of a five-stage ‘Pathway to the City’ strategy which aims to provide 4,020 young people aged 16-25 with the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to complete valuable work experience and ultimately secure a role within their chosen industry. In addition, Quilter colleagues will be directly involved in a range of volunteering opportunities with The Brokerage including careers panels, masterclasses and micro-mentoring.
Barratt Developments celebrates NHS anniversary with donations
To celebrate the NHS 75th anniversary Barratt Developments has donated £75,000 in total to three NHS charities that work to support the NHS through funding critical life-saving treatment and teach the new generations of nurses and midwifes. The three charities each receiving £25,000 are: NHS Charities Together, The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Florence Nightingale Foundation.
Tu Clothing donates £100k from uniform sales to support school & food clubs
Tu Clothing is donating £100,000 from the proceeds of school uniform sales to its longstanding charity partner Comic Relief to support free school meals and kids’ food clubs across the UK. Comic Relief will split the £100,000 donation evenly between two of its key projects – Feeding Britain, and The Bread and Butter Thing. Feeding Britain will use the funding to boost food supplies for Affordable Food Clubs across five areas of its UK network during the back-to-school period. The initiative aims to support 2,500 families throughout the first school term (September-December 2023). The Bread and Butter Thing (TBBT) will put the donation towards extending its support for families in its newest areas of operation with the opening of two new school-based food clubs in the Midlands. The funding will also help to sustain the projects long term.
O2 Silver Clef Awards have raised over £500,000 for Nordoff and Robbins
The annual O2 Silver Clef Awards has so far raised £537,000 for Nordoff and Robbins. This fundraising boost will help Nordoff and Robbins’ trained music therapists to support some of the most vulnerable children and adults in the UK. The award ceremony – now in its 46th year saw Stormzy winning the flagship O2 Silver Clef Award, Mark King of Level 42 honoured with the Icon Award and Neneh Cherry receive the accolade for Outstanding Achievement. Presented by Edith Bowman for the fifth-year running, with Peter Andre returning to take his regular hosting spot on the blue carpet, the O2 Silver Clef Awards are held to recognise and celebrate the talent of the winning artists and the impact of music. Since 1976, the awards have raised over £12 million for Nordoff and Robbins.
Engage Consulting Donate £1000 to The Fuel Bank Foundation
As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility commitment, Engage Consulting has supported the Fuel Bank Foundation with a recent donation of £1000 to help it to continue its work in during the cost-of-living crisis. The Fuel Bank Foundation provides emergency help to people who do not have heat, light and/or power in their homes because they cannot afford to top up their prepayment gas and/or electricity meter.
New Carebank initiative to raise funds for Canine Partners
Caremark, one of the largest home care companies in the UK, has announced the launch of Carebark, a new initiative celebrating the bond between humans and their four-legged friends while raising funds for charity Canine Partners. Carebark invites dog owners to submit their pets’ photos to Caremark’s Carebark page on Facebook or via an email to ca******@ca*************.uk. For every photo received until 30 September 2023, Caremark will donate £1 to Canine Partners, up to a maximum of £500. In addition to sharing a photo, dog owners are encouraged to provide a few words explaining why their furry friends hold such a special place in their lives. These stories will be showcased in Caremark’s Carebark Hall of Fame page on their official website.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.