Argos corporate news
Argos partnership with Help the Hospices raises £500,000 in first year
27 July 2006
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."
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."
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."
