Argos partnership with Help the Hospices raises £500,000 in first year
Howard Lake | 21 July 2006 | Newswire
FROM HELP THE HOSPICES, 34-44 BRITANNIA ST, LONDON WC1X 9JG
Registered charity no 1014851
____________________________________________________________
21st July 2006
ARGOS PARTNERSHIP WITH HELP THE HOSPICES RAISES £500,000 IN FIRST YEAR
Fundraising target exceeded by 66%
The two-year partnership between Argos and Help the Hospices – Helping Hospices, Helping Families†has raised half a million pounds for hospice care in its first year. The partnership, which began on 30th July 2005, was projected to raise £600,000 over two years, but has greatly exceeded expectations, and is now on target to generate over £1 million by the end of July 2007. The proceeds go to Help the Hospices and individual hospices throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
To date, the partnership has included a series of highly successful fund-raising initiatives involving Argos staff and customers, including the groundbreaking ‘Tick to Give’ scheme which invites customers to tick a box on their Argos product selection slip to donate 20p to Help the Hospices when making a purchase in-store. Other projects include the sale of world cup wristbands, which raised over £114,000, a mobile phone recycling scheme, and in-store fundraising tied in with events such as the launch of Argos’ new catalogue.
A key feature of the partnership has been the relationship between Argos’ stores, distribution centres, contact centres and head office with individual local adult and children’s hospices in their area, giving the company’s 24,000 employees the opportunity to make a difference within their local community.
As the partnership also covers the Republic of Ireland, Help the Hospices is collaborating with the Irish Hospice Foundation for the first time on a corporate partnership scheme.
Lorna Liggett, community affairs manager at Argos, attributes the success of the partnership to a variety of factors: The level of engagement from across the business has been overwhelming. Help the Hospices won 47% of a staff vote to choose between a shortlist of three charities. This initial support has been boosted by us forming a true partnership with both Help the Hospices and individual hospices who have been wonderfully supportive and keep in regular contact with staff though bulletins and sharing best practise. Having a link to colleagues’ local community is also proving to be a real asset as they are able and can see the importance of the money they raise. People have really got behind the partnership and we are seeing some fantastic results. We’ve had people jumping out of planes and running marathons. To date this has been a very creative and dynamic partnership and it’s proving to be our most successful charity relationship to date.â€
David Galloway, store manager of Argos’ Bradford Kirkgate store, commented, I voted for Help the Hospices because I know how important hospices are when someone you love gets diagnosed with a terminal illness. I lost my mum to cancer in 1985 and the level of care and support given by the Kirkwood Hospice in Huddersfield has stayed with me. The staff at the hospice were fantastic, they were able to take away the fear that she might be on her own and were able to give more care and understanding than would have been possible in a hospital. I’m delighted that Argos staff and customers have been able to support hospice care.â€
Argos staff are receiving a thank-you message in their payslips to notify them that £500,000 has been raised through their efforts, while in-store posters thank Argos’ customers for their support.
Anne Seymour, corporate fundraiser, Help the Hospices, said, We have been so touched by the way that Argos staff around the country have rallied behind the cause and helped to raise such a tremendous amount. £500,000 will make a big difference to the hospice movement in providing invaluable care to patients and their families when they need it the most, so we would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been involved in this.â€
Ends
Media Enquiries
For more information please contact:
Jo Pratt
Help the Hospices Press Office
020 8699 6566 / 07734 566079 /
jo*****@jo*****.com
or Kate Smith / Kathryn Thomas
Argos media relations
0845 120 4365 /
me*************@ar***.uk
Notes to editors
About Help the Hospices
Help the Hospices is the national charity for the hospice movement supporting over 220 local hospices in their vital work on the front line of caring for people who face the end of life. It also gives a voice to the views and concerns of the independent charitable hospices that provide the majority of hospice care in the UK. Hospice care is given free of charge and the UK government contributes an average of 33% of running costs for adult hospices and 2.7% (in England) for children’s – the rest has to be found by charitable fundraising (note: based on latest figures available.) Help the Hospices’ vision is of a world in which the best possible care is available to all people at the end of life, whatever their circumstances. For more information about Help the Hospices visit www.helpthehospices.org.uk or call 020 7520 8200. For information about hospice care and services in your area, visit www.hospiceinformation.info or call 0870 903 3903 (national rate charges apply).
About Argos
Argos, one of the UK’s leading multi-channel retailers, has over 650 stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Argos expects to add around 35 stores per annum over the next four years, bringing the total to over 750 stores by March 2009. Argos sales for the last two years has topped £3 billion. It is the pioneer of catalogue retailing in the UK and has established a strong brand focused on choice, value and convenience. To visit Argos’ award winning e-tail site, click on www.argos.co.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.