People Matter: Wickes raise £100k for The Brain Tumour Charity
Home improvement retailer Wickes have fundraised over £100k in less than seven days for their new charity partner The Brain Tumour Charity.
Activities took place across their 230 stores, support and distribution centres. They included customer donations instore and online, bake sales, raffles and colleague challenges, such as The Taskmaster Challenge.
At the launch event colleagues pledged to get behind the charity and this was brought to life by the creation of the colleague mosaic, Together Against Brain Tumours. Behind the logos are photos of hundreds of colleagues wearing red to show their support.
Gina Almond Fundraising Director for The Brain Tumour Charity said: “Coming up with ideas on the best ways to engage a team is a great opportunity to link to the key messages for the charity. The TaskMaster Challenge was a fantastic example where teams had to work together to build a biscuit bridge. It needed to be 33cm across to highlight that 33 people are diagnosed with a brain tumour every day, have three pillars to highlight how the money raised will be invested into campaigns, research and support, and support three jammy dodgers representing the shocking fact that just 3% of cancer funds go to research brain tumours.
Throughout the two-year partnership, colleagues at Wickes will embark on a series of fundraising missions across its 230 stores and digital channels.
Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40. On average, a tumour can reduce the lifespan of patients by 27 years – the highest of any cancer.
The Brain Tumour Charity is the UK’s largest dedicated brain tumour charity, making a difference each day to the lives of people with a brain tumour and their families. The Charity funds pioneering research to increase survival, raise awareness of the symptoms and effects of brain tumours as well as offering vital support and information to all those affected. At least 88,000 children and adults are currently living with a brain tumour in the UK.
David Wood, CEO of Wickes, said: “It’s been an impressive start to our partnership. Our colleagues are hearing personal stories from volunteers like Andy Tudor who had a meningioma brain tumour diagnosed six years ago and Hayley Connor whose five-year-old granddaughter, Lily was diagnosed with a brain tumour at just 11 months old. It really brings to life the importance of our partnership and the difference they can personally make to enable The Charity to further its work in research and increase the number of people they can support.“
Beth Worrall, Interim CEO of The Brain Tumour Charity said: “We are blown away by the generosity of Wickes customers and colleagues on this first event and excited for future ones. We are honoured to have been chosen to be Wickes official charity partner. This transformational partnership will be a step change in our ability to fund our growing support services, accelerate change in brain tumour diagnosis and treatment, and to invest in vital research for all those affected.
“Working together with this monumental support from Wickes, we will be able to move faster towards our goals to accelerate a cure and help over 12,000 people who are diagnosed annually. We know that Wickes’ colleagues are enthusiastic fundraisers and ardent supporters and we look forward to working alongside them with drive and determination. On behalf of our entire community, our heartfelt thanks for your support and your votes.”
As well as a national UK-wide charity partnership, Wickes also supports charities and community groups at a local level through their Community Programme.
