Post Office® Ants set to raise funds for hospices across the country
Post Office Ltd is producing a range of special edition pin badges in a new initiative to raise funds for its major supported charity, Help the Hospices. Funds raised will be split between a number of local hospices across the country.
The rubber badges feature the Post Office®’s well-known family of ants, with each one waving a ‘Help the Hospices’ placard. They will be on sale in 500 Post Office® branches across the UK for two months from today (25 September) for a suggested minimum donation of GBP1.
Six different badges are being produced, each featuring different characters from the Post Office® ant family. One of the badges, featuring the twins, will be available only as a special edition for collectors. Some 3,000 of these special collectable badges will be available via mail order from Help the Hospices (tel 0207 520 8245 or email [email protected]).
Branch staff are also being encouraged to sell the badges through an internal competition, with a prize for the branch that sells the most.
Tony Hills, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility for Post Office Ltd, commented, "The ants are popular with adults and children alike, so we do anticipate a strong interest in the badges. We’re really pleased to be able to mobilise the power of the Post Office® ants to support local hospices across the UK in this way."
Liz George, Head of Corporate and Events Fundraising at Help the Hospices, said, "This is great for local hospices not only because of the funds it will raise but also because of the association with the Post Office® ants, which are so familiar to Post Office® customers everywhere. We’re really grateful to the Post Office® for doing this for us."
The badges, which are all around 3cm long, are being produced by the Big Badge Company.
As part of the major supported charity partnership, Post Office® branches as well as Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide sites across the country have been twinned with local hospices in their area so employees can fundraise and volunteer for them.
Ends
Notes to editors
About the Post Office®
With around 14,300 branches across the country, the Post Office® is the largest retail and financial services chain in the UK. Its network is larger than all of the UK’s banks and building societies put together. Around 94 per cent of the UK population lives within a mile of a Post Office® branch and 25 million customers visit every week.
The Post Office® offers over 170 products and services including travel and financial services (including personal loans, car, home and travel insurance and a new "two in one" credit card), banking services, bill payments, HomePhone (its home telephone service), gift vouchers and cards, lottery products, licence applications, phonecards and mobile phone top-ups, and postal services. It is the largest supplier of foreign currency in the UK and is a leading provider of travel insurance. To find out where your nearest Post Office® branch is call 08457-223 344.
About Help the Hospices
Help the Hospices is the national charity for the hospice movement supporting over 220 local hospices in their vital work on the front line of caring for people who face the end of life. It also gives a voice to the views and concerns of the independent charitable hospices that provide the majority of hospice care in the UK. Hospice care is given free of charge and the UK government contributes an average of 33% of running costs for adult hospices and 2.7% (in England) for children’s – the rest has to be found by charitable fundraising (note: based on latest figures available.) Help the Hospices’ vision is of a world in which the best possible care is available to all people at the end of life, whatever their circumstances. More information about hospice care is available at www.helpthehospices.org.uk or call hospice information on 0870 903 3903.
