Partnership aims to raise £3million for people affected by cancer over two years
Milton Keynes, UK, 2015-3-28 — /EPR Retail News/ — Macmillan Cancer Support has today announced a brand new partnership with the UK’s leading home and general merchandise retailer, Home Retail Group, owner of Argos, Homebase and Habitat. The partnership will engage Home Retail Group colleagues and customers across the UK through a range of fundraising activities and events aiming to raise a total of £3million for Macmillan by March 2017.
Macmillan was selected by Home Retail Group colleagues to be their new UK charity partner following a staff vote, with the money raised in the first year of partnership funding vital hours of Macmillan nursing care. The partnership has launched today [Friday 27 March] with a ‘Go Mad Go Green’ fundraising day in offices and branches of Argos, Homebase and Habitat across the country.
Further plans include support of Macmillan’s national fundraising events Night In and World’s Biggest Coffee Morning, as well as bespoke fundraising activity linked to key trading periods for the business such as the Argos Catalogue Launch. Homebase will also involve Macmillan in the launch of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden in May this year as part of the partnership.
Lynda Thomas, Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Support says: “We are all absolutely delighted to be launching a new partnership with Home Retail Group today. Our year one fundraising target of £1.5million could pay for over 55,500 Macmillan nursing hours, enabling us to provide a phenomenal amount of dedicated and specialised cancer care. The opportunity presented by our new partnership with Home Retail Group to raise £3million to help the 2.5million people living with cancer in the UK today is one I know will make a great deal of difference to Macmillan’s ambition which is to ensure that no one has to face cancer alone.”
Amy Whidburn, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Home Retail Group says: “I’m thrilled that Home Retail Group colleagues have voted Macmillan Cancer Support as our charity of choice over the next two years. Cancer affects so many people so we are determined to raise a substantial amount of money to fund Macmillan nursing hours and to make a real difference to Macmillan’s ambition to ensure that no one has to face cancer alone. I look forward to getting involved and supporting the business and our 47,000 colleagues over the next two years to help us reach our ambitious target for Macmillan.”
To complement the ambitious fundraising programme, Macmillan will also utilise Home Retail Group internal and customer facing communications channels, with a particular focus on the growing number of Argos digital stores, to share vital cancer awareness messages and to signpost those in Argos, Homebase or Habitat stores to Macmillan support services.
Colleagues and stores in the Republic of Ireland will raise funds for the Irish Cancer Society.
-ENDS-
For more information please contact:
Melissa Shelley, PR Officer at Macmillan Cancer Support on: 0207 091 2319 / mshelley@macmillan.org.uk
Judith Ineson at Home Retail Group on 0845 120 4365/ media.relations@homeretailgroup.com
Notes to editors
About Macmillan Cancer Support
When you have cancer, you don’t just worry about what will happen to your body, you worry about what will happen to your life. Whether it’s concerns about who you can talk to, planning for the extra costs or what to do about work, at Macmillan we understand how a cancer diagnosis can take over everything.
That’s why we’re here. We provide support that helps people take back control of their lives. But right now, we can’t reach everyone who needs us. We need your help to make sure that people affected by cancer get the support they need to face the toughest fight of their life. No one should face cancer alone, and with your support no one will.
To get involved, call 0300 1000 200 today. And please remember, we’re here for you too. If you’d like support, information or just to chat, call us free on 0808 808 00 00 (Monday to Friday, 9am–8pm) or visit macmillan.org.uk
About Home Retail Group
Home Retail Group is the UK’s leading home and general merchandise retailer with sales of around £5.7 billion in the financial year to February 2014. We sell products under three distinct and complementary retail brands – Argos, Homebase and Habitat. The Group employs some 47,000 people across the business. For more information visit www.homeretailgroup.com
About the Macmillan Cancer Support & Home Retail Group partnership
Cancer is often the toughest fight many people will face. Home Retail Group and Macmillan Cancer Support are working together to improve access to vital Macmillan nursing hours for everyone affected by cancer, to help ensure that no one faces cancer alone.
The partnership will engage Home Retail Group colleagues and customers across the UK through a range of fundraising activities and events aiming to raise a total of £3million for Macmillan by March 2017.
Through this partnership, Home Retail Group colleagues and customers will enable Macmillan to deliver the best quality and experience of cancer care, from the point of diagnosis.
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