BT smashes fundraising target by raising €220K for the Irish Cancer Society & Marie Curie

BITCI News - Members News - Nov 27, 2017

250 BT volunteers take over 25 Irish Cancer & Marie Curie shops to raise vital funds.

BT Ireland’s annual charity shop takeover, BT Shop for Change, raised an astounding €220,688 for Irish Cancer Society and Marie Curie, bringing the total funds raised over the last six years for the charities to almost €683,840 euro. Over 110 BT employees, from the leading communications and IT Services Company, took part in the Republic of Ireland alone, raising an incredible €148,150 for the Irish Cancer Society.

From the outset, staff from across the business enthusiastically got involved raising cash through in-store sales, auctions, on-street performances, quizzes, dressing up, baking cakes and much more. Some of the fantastic highlights from the partnership included:

  • Collecting 4,200 bags of clothes for the shops to raise money
  • Singer, Ryan Sheridan busking out the Irish Cancer Society shop in Drogheda
  • Auction of a signed Dublin jersey from the 2017 All Ireland winning team that raised over €500

Over the past few months, BT Ireland’s strong workforce across ROI and NI have donated in excess of nearly 4,000 volunteer hours of their time for both charities. The funds raised represent a record for BT’s partnership with the charities, beating all other years in terms of volunteers, hours put in and funds raised.

Paul Hughes, Irish Cancer Society Shops Manager said, “BT employees should be so proud of the support they are providing to people affected by cancer. This year’s BT Shop for Change event was a fantastic success, with an increase in sales on the day and number of bags of stock donated for our stores to sell over the coming weeks. All money raised will help the Society to deliver free care, support and information services for cancer patients and their families across the country. Through their trojan effort, BT employees are ensuring no one has to face cancer alone. Thank you to all involved and to our customers for supporting the day also.”

Mark Hopkins, Director of Business Sales, BT Ireland said: “Unfortunately cancer affects nearly all of us in some way, some harder than others, which is why all our employees feel so passionate to get involved and give back. The achievement of the funds raised could not have been possible without all our staffs hard work and dedication over the last few months. The incredible support we received from the public on the day and from our own customers with donations made this a record year for BT Shop for Change.”

BT Ireland supports the charity sector in a number of ways, the partnership with the Irish Cancer Society being one of its platforms to allow employees give back to a cause relevant to them. Since January 2017 BT Ireland have donated nearly €70,000 to a number charities, outside of the Irish Cancer Society partnership, nearly double the amount donated by the company last year.

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