Who’s supporting who – corporate partnership round up
Melanie May | 27 December 2023 | News
A whole host of corporate partnership news snippets, from Mowgli and Plan International UK, to esure and Shelter.
Glasgow business group raises £45k for SBH Scotland
A Glasgow business networking group has spent the last year completing and attending a series of challenges and events in aid of the group’s charity member, Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus (SBH) Scotland, raising £45,000 for the charity as a result.
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SBH Scotland joined the 62-member strong group BNI Evolution in 2020 and all the businesses have steadily increased their involvement over the years. This year they have doubled their donation from last year through regular donations or members taking part in challenges including SBH Scotland’s Zipslide the Clyde, the Killiecrankie Bungee Jump and the Kiltwalk. Member Graham Wyllie of GFW Quality Management has also become a Charity Ambassador, raising money and promoting the charity widely across his own business network, while George Monaghan of Monapics donates his time to provide photography and the Joe Walker Group sponsor and attend events like We Love Lunch.
The Gym Group partners with NHS Charities Together
The Gym Group teams around the UK will be walking the equivalent distance of the UK to Lapland and back this December to celebrate the gym operator’s new charity partner, NHS Charities Together.
Until 17 December, The Gym Group will be encouraging members to take part in its festive ‘Santa Run’ and run or walk 15,000 steps – the average step count of an NHS nurse. With all 234 gyms in The Gym Group’s network of gyms taking part, the collective step count will add up to over 4,000 miles. All participants will be encouraged to give back to the NHS this December by donating to the charity via the online fundraising page.
Plan International partners with Indian restaurant chain Mowgli
Plan International has partnered with Indian street food restaurant chain Mowgli to build two schools in India to help increase access to quality and inclusive education for children and girls throughout India. The partnership will fund two new projects, based in Varanasi, India, and will seek to implement build work and infrastructure improvements in two government schools, whilst also focusing on teacher training and working towards positive behaviour change.
Mowgli currently operates at over 20 restaurants. The business was created with charitable giving as a central pillar with the Mowgli Trust set up by founder, Nisha Katona MBE, to specifically raise funds for local charities within the cities she takes Mowgli to. Since the restaurant business opened in 2014, it has gone on to raise over £1.8million for both local and international charities.
Lifestyle network partners with DIRT Charity
Lifestyle network ONDA has partnered with DIRT Charity, and will be donating 20% of its profits to support the charity’s work to reshape the fashion industry through regenerative practises. The partnership launched on 5 December.
Denplan donates £100k to Dentaid to expand oral health education programme
Denplan, part of Simplyhealth, has announced a £100,000 donation to its charity partner Dentaid, which will expand its oral health education programme, BrightBites, to a minimum of 90,000 UK school-aged children.
Targeting schools, nurseries and clubs for low-income families, volunteers will deliver in-person sessions, with a range of resources including toothbrushing charts, stickers, recipes and healthy teeth leaflets, to educate and inform children about oral health. The partnership will also provide teacher resources designed to work alongside the curriculum. And every child will also be provided with a toothbrush and toothpaste to continue their positive oral health journey.
esure launches three-year charity partnership with Shelter
Insurance firm esure has chosen Shelter to be its new charity partner for the next three years. Staff voted to support Shelter from a shortlist of five charities, narrowed down from more than forty nominated organisations.
esure will encourage colleagues to dedicate time to fundraising activities, including events like marathons and days spent volunteering in Shelter charity shops. Colleagues will also be able to make direct donations through the ‘Pennies from Heaven’ scheme, where the pennies from each month’s pay are donated.
Prostate Cancer UK and phs Group formally partner on male incontinence campaign
Prostate Cancer UK has announced one of its most valuable formal partnerships with hygiene services provider, phs Group, in a bid to drive forward their joint Dispose with Dignity campaign.
The formal two-year partnership forms an important part of the next phase of the campaign. phsGroup will be one of Prostate Cancer UK’s biggest corporate partners. The announcement follows a high-profile year for Dispose with Dignity, which sparked a national conversation on the issue of male incontinence. It secured widespread support, with MPs raising the issue in parliament and sanitary bins being introduced in men’s toilets by major UK businesses including motorway services provider Moto and sustainable welfare provider Garic.
New partnership see pet retailer offer BillyChip across its 98 stores
UK pet retailer Jollyes is partnering with social enterprise BillyChip to offer its street currency in its 98 UK stores. BillyChip is now available in Jollyes nationwide for £2. The tokens can be given by customers to homeless people so they can exchange them for dog food in Jollyes as well as in participating cafes and restaurants to meet other basic needs, such as a hot drink or meal.
Jollyes is BillyChip’s first partner outside of the food and services sector. While customers can purchase BillyChip and donate themselves to those living on the streets, they will also be able to deposit it in a special box at the register. Each quarter beginning in March 2024, BillyChip and Jollyes will donate dog food using both the value of the BillyChip tokens purchased by customers with Jollyes doubling the size of the donation.
Hollywood Bowl partners with Macmillan Cancer Support
Hollywood Bowl Group has joined forces with Macmillan Cancer Support. The new partnership, which will be rolled out nationwide, will see a variety of fundraising initiatives set to take place at all local Hollywood Bowl and Puttstars mini golf centres across the UK, and with larger-scale fundraising activities planned.
Hollywood Bowl Group team members were given the opportunity to vote for the brand’s next charity partner, with 65% choosing Macmillan Cancer Support to be named the official partner. To get new team members involved from the offset, Hollywood Bowl Group has launched an initiative that sees the company donate £15 to Macmillan for every new team member that completes their induction.
David Lloyd Fulham partners with Change Please social enterprise
David Lloyd Clubs and Change Please are partnering to support the homeless community in the West London area. The David Lloyd Fulham Club started a campaign on 20 November, encouraging members to donate unwanted coats. More than 300 coats were donated by David Lloyd Clubs’ members, and to say thank you, a free cup of Change Please coffee was offered for every donated coat. Clubs involved include David Lloyd Fulham, Kensington, Acton Park, Notting Hill, and the Chelsea Harbour Club.
On Thursday 14 December, David Lloyd Clubs visited the Change Please Driving For Change Bus to distribute coats, food and drinks to those experiencing homelessness across the West London area. As part of this, David Lloyd organised over 100 sandwiches to be provided to Change Please beneficiaries through their supply chain.
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.