Royal Mail releases charity single with Joe McElderry to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK
Howard Lake | 10 April 2013 | News
Royal Mail has joined forces with X Factor winner Joe McElderry to release a single in aid of Prostate Cancer UK. The Royal Mail Choir and the singer have recorded a new version of Abide with Me in an arrangement that features a 20-piece string orchestra.
The track will be available for download from 14 April from iTunes and Amazon MP3. Royal Mail will donate £1 to Prostate Cancer UK for every download, up to a total of £100,000. It has borne all the costs of making the single, including recording and promotion.
Royal Mail Group's partnership with Prostate Cancer UK was launched in September 2012 and has so far raised about £800,000, including matched funding from the company. This is the first time that the company is matching money raised by its employees for its Charity of the Year.
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It aims to raise at least £2 million by the end of the partnership.
Football stamps
The song was chosen because of its historic link with the FA Cup Final, which will be held on 11 May. On 9 May, Royal Mail will issue 11 stamps celebrating famous football players from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales
The Royal Mail Choir
Abide with Me is the first professional recording by the Royal Mail Choir, which formed for a TV series last year. Its members enjoyed the experience so much that they have continued to perform to raise money for charity.
Choir leader, Tim Barber, said: "We’ve got 30 postmen, postwomen, delivery office, mail centre staff and managers singing their hearts out for charity. Joe’s a brilliant singer and he’s been enormously helpful – we’re all really proud of the song and delighted Joe agreed to take part.”
Royal Mail Group and charitable giving
Royal Mail Group holds the Guinness World Record for payroll giving, with 975 charities benefiting. Its employees account for 6% of all payroll giving donors in the UK.
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.