Argos corporate news
Argos Olympics charity event raises £66,000 for Whizz-Kidz
09 December 2004
Argos staff donated a record breaking £66,000 to Whizz-Kidz on December 2 at a closing ceremony held at Argos' head office in Milton Keynes.
The mammoth cheque was presented to Whizz-Kidz by Argos managing director, Sara Weller, and operations director, Ben Idun, along with some of the store teams who were crowned regional winners and reunited to form the Argos Olympics ring.
This unusual event was launched in August at the same time as the Olympic Games with the aim of raising over £60,000 for the national children's charity which improves the quality of life of disabled children and young people throughout the UK.
It involved splitting staff into five regions - north, south, east, west and the Republic of Ireland, representing each of the five Olympic rings - and challenging them to move their regional Olympic rings and flags through all 580 stores, distribution centres and offices across the UK and Republic of Ireland in the weirdest and wackiest way. It covered thousands of miles in the process and really did bring up some surprises!
Motorbikes, boats, steam trains and planes were just some of the methods used by staff to move the rings and flags, and even the police, army and coastguard all got into the spirit of things. Some staff took the fundraising to new heights by actually skydiving.
Whizz-Kidz chief executive, Ruth Owen, said of the event: "Argos staff have really shown their dedication to Whizz-Kidz and we are over the moon with the amount of money raised. This will really help us to change the lives of disabled children by giving them the independence all children need."
And managing director for Argos, Sara Weller, added: "We are delighted to have raised such an amazing amount of money for such a worthwhile charity. Everyone in the company fully supported the event, and many staff really went the extra mile in transporting the rings and flags in very unusual ways!"
"Movement was the key theme behind the Argos Olympics as staff knew they were raising vital funds to give disabled children and teenagers across the country freedom of movement. It highlights how important it is to everyone."
Nearly £500,000 has been raised by Argos for Whizz-Kidz, its charity of the year, since the partnership began in 2003, through a number of initiatives, including mobile phone recycling and inkjet cartridge recycling.
