CLIC Sargent chosen for £7m Morrisons charity partnership
Howard Lake | 8 February 2017 | News
Retailer Morrisons has chosen young people’s cancer support charity CLIC Sargent as its charity partner. The three-year collaboration is expected to be worth £7 million to the charity.
The charity was chosen by 50,000 Morrisons staff who had to choose between Age UK and CLIC Sargent in a ballot last month. CLIC Sargent won 65% of the vote.
The previous ‘Raise a Smile’ charity partner was Sue Ryder, which received £7.2 million from the three-year partnership.
CLIC Sargent will use the anticipated income to increase the amount of financial support it provides to young people and families who are struggling with the extra living expenses a cancer diagnosis brings, like long-distance travel for specialist treatment.
It will also expand its specialist nursing programme, which maximises the amount of time that young people can spend safely at home.
Kate Lee, CEO, CLIC Sargent
Kate Lee, CEO, CLIC Sargent, thanked Morrisons’ staff, sayng:
“We can’t wait to start fundraising with the wonderful people at Morrisons, and welcome them all to join CLIC Sargent’s fight for young lives against cancer.
“Our nurses, social workers and other frontline staff across the UK work tirelessly to limit the damage cancer causes beyond a child or young person’s health. Now together with Morrisons colleagues, we’ll be able to stop cancer destroying more young lives than ever”.
Local charity champions
Over a thousand of CLIC Sargent’s supporters and service users signed up to champion the charity at a local level ahead of, and during the ballot. The charity’s campaign also saw families helped by CLIC Sargent fronting the appeal on posters, and speaking out about their experiences via social, local and national media.
Seven year old Amber Whiston supported CLIC Sargent’s campaign
CLIC Sargent featured Amber Whiston and her family in its video campaign to become Morrison’s charity partner.
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Celebrity appeals to Morrisons’ staff
CLIC Sargent’s campaign included several of its celebrity supporters like comedian Chris Ramsey and presenter Gaby Roslin take to social media to show their support for the charity’s bid.
Jake Humphrey with Freya and her parents – photo: Jake Humphrey
BT Sport presenter Jake Humphrey even broadcast on Facebook Live from his local Morrisons store in Norwich in support of the charity’s campaign to staff. At the store he met and interviewed Steve Durbridge who has worked at Morrisons for 27 years, and his daughter Freya, aged three, who has cancer and is supported by the charity. The moving interview has been watched over 220,000 times.
How the money raised will be spent
CLIC Sargent explained to Morrisons staff how the funding would be spent.
People
CLIC Sargent will create a brand new team of expert nurses who will go out into local communities to educate health and social care professionals so that they have the skills to provide the best possible care for children and young people with cancer.
Places
CLIC Sargent will create new Home Hubs close to Specialist Treatment Hospitals, providing a welcoming environment for families to take a much needed break from the intensity of hospital.
Practical Things
CLIC Sargent will provide grants to families across every Morrisons community to help them cope with the financial consequences of a cancer diagnosis. They will also develop a ground-breaking new digital hub, giving thousands of young people and families access to expert advice and information when and where they want it.
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.