// Poundland commits £2.5m to charity partners Make-A-Wish UK, Tommy’s & Whizz-Kidz UK in next two years
// Will also grant £825,000 over next 12 months to community projects starting with kits for kids
Poundland today has announced that it has received approval from the Charity Commission to bring all its charity fundraising and donations activity under one banner with the launch of a new foundation.
The Poundland Foundation will continue to support the discount retailer’s existing charity partnership with Make-A-Wish UK, Tommy’s and Whizz-Kidz with a £2.5 million commitment over the next two years.
Through its new foundation, Poundland will also invest an additional £825,000 in communities over the next 12 months to provide cash grants.
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The Poundland Foundation said it would focus its first activity on providing sports kits for kids to get them active again, after recent data from Sport England showed that children taking part in physical activity for an hour or more had dropped rom 47 per cent to 19 per cent during the first lockdown.
This first grant window will open at 9am on June 1 and community groups will have the opportunity to apply for one of 250 grants of up to £750 each to provide kits or equipment for local kids’ sports teams.
“Poundland has got a strong tradition of supporting good causes, nationally and locally, and I want to thank all our colleagues and customers for all their fundraising efforts,” Poundland managing director Barry Williams said.
“The launch of the Poundland Foundation is a significant step for us and shows our commitment to helping our communities up and down the country.
“As a sports fan and a dad with sports-mad kids, I’m very excited about helping kids get and stay active – whatever the sport.”
Money for the foundation will come from in-store fundraising, carrier bag donations and the partnership with Pennies, the charity that collects micro-donations through chip and pin machines.
Poundland added that over the past four years, it has raised over £4.5 million for charities and community causes, challenging perceptions of a discount retailer in a tough retail landscape.
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