Two charity collaborations to mark Moomin Characters’ 80th, plus more partnership news
Melanie May | 24 October 2024 | News
Moomin Characters is partnering with Refugee Week and British Red Cross, while elsewhere, Lucy & Yak are doing a London pop-up with Shelter, and DF Capital has donated a Ducati to Greater Manchester Blood Bikes. More on these and other corporate partnerships below.
Moomin Characters to collaborate with Refugee Week & British Red Cross as part of 80th anniversary plans
Moomin Characters has today, Thursday 24 October, announced its plans to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the first Moomin story, The Moomins and the Great Flood, which was originally published in 1945 by Tove Jansson. Under the theme “The Door is Always Open” – referring to the door of the Moominhouse, celebrations will include charitable fundraisers, fan competitions, new books, a film, product launches and more.
In the UK, the brand is partnering with Counterpoints Arts and Refugee Week to commission four artists to create four public artworks inspired by The Moomins and the Great Flood. The four artworks will be co-produced by Counterpoints Arts and partners around the UK: Southbank Centre, London: Woodland Tribe, with artist Nabil Amini; Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, with artist Henna Asikainen; Gloucester Guildhall with artist Dana Olărescu; Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, with Basel Zaraa. The artworks will appear in May and June 2025 and will be supported by a range of community programming, Refugee Week resources and activations.
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In addition, Moomin Characters, publisher Sort Of Books and Waterstones are partnering on a collaboration to raise funds for the British Red Cross. Sort Of Books will publish a special anniversary edition of The Moomins and the Great Flood which will include a full-colour cut-out Moomin house designed by Tove Jansson in the 1950s plus her notes on the Moomins. The book will be priced at £9.99 with a £7.50 donation from each copy sold by Waterstones going to support the British Red Cross’s work. The anniversary edition will also include a foreword by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the new Waterstones Children’s Laureate.
Lucy & Yak partners with Shelter on pop-up store
Lucy & Yak has partnered with Shelter to present The Comfort Store, an exclusive pop-up with a focus on home comforts. The Comfort Store will feature a donation of Lucy & Yak items, to sit alongside Shelter’s curated edit of boutique pieces, with all proceeds going to the charity.
The store will be open on Friday 1 November (10am-7pm), Saturday 2 November (10am-7pm), and Sunday 3 November (11am-5pm) at Coal Drops Yard Boutique, King’s Cross. The Comfort Store will buy back preloved Yaks and donate them directly to Shelter in exchange for a discount code of up to £20 to spend at Lucy & Yak.
The Countess Bathurst, Founder of NFRSA, with Jollyes CEO Joe Wykes at the Swindon store
Jollyes unveils NFRSA as new charity partner
Jollyes has named the National Foundation for Retired Service Animals (NFRSA) as one of its key charity partners. Over the next 12 months, all of Jollyes’ 100-plus stores will be raising money for NFRSA through collection boxes in its stores. These donations will also be matched by Jollyes to maximise the work that the NFRSA is able to do in supporting retired service animals and their owners. Images of retired service animals supported by NFRSA across the UK will be added to community boards in each of Jollyes’ stores with local service animals helping open new Jollyes stores as a guest of honour.
Jollyes will open an additional three stores before the end of 2024 in East Kilbride, Leyland and Cardiff, with help from NFRSA animals at each. Leyland store will be the first to open on Friday 15 November with a formal ceremony the next day. At 9.00am on Saturday 16 November, the Leyland Works brass band will play pet-themed songs for shoppers and at 10.00am retired border force dog Trigger will bite through a string of sausages to declare the store formally open.
DF Capital donates motorcycle to Greater Manchester Blood Bikes
Manchester-based DF Capital has donated a new Ducati motorcycle to Greater Manchester Blood Bikes to transport blood, plasma, platelets, samples, vaccines, donor breast milk and other urgently required medical items to hospitals and healthcare sites across the North West region.
The bike, a Ducati Multistrada V2S, will join the charity’s fleet to be used by volunteer riders for their 24/7 service to hospitals, healthcare sites including air ambulance and Milk Banks. DF Capital has also provided accessories and £1,500 towards the first year’s running costs. The bank was introduced to Greater Manchester Blood Bikes through its charity partnership with the Milk Bank at Chester. The bike is named in honour of Bodhi, who was stillborn at 41 weeks and whose mum donated her milk and helped the bank form its Memory Milk Gift Service for bereaved families. It was purchased through DF Capital customer, Ducati Manchester Group who provided a discount on the price.
Central Co-op develops Planting Promise to support reforestation in Malawi
Central Co-op is combining its Planting Promise initiative into its Our Malawi Partnership to help support environmental and trading capacity in Malawi.
Since 2022, Central Co-op has committed to planting a tree for every funeral it conducts, planting nearly 20,000 trees annually and offsetting up to 6,000 tonnes of CO2. Now, the funeral provider will be focusing its Planting Promise on Malawi.The new initiative will contribute to the reforestation of Malawi’s most affected regions. Central Co-op’s Our Malawi Partnership already supports farmers and producers by selling a range of Malawi-sourced products in its stores.
10th round of MADL’s Heart of the Community Awards supports winter initiatives
Nisa’s Making a Difference Locally (MADL) charity has launched its tenth round of the Heart of the Community Awards, offering support to local causes during the challenging winter months. Through this initiative, Nisa retailers can apply for up to £1,000 in funding for each of 50 selected causes, helping communities across the UK stay warm, safe, and supported as colder weather sets in.
Nisa retailers have until Tuesday, 29 October to apply for this funding, which aims to address some of the most pressing issues faced by vulnerable individuals and families during the winter months.
Cymphony to double funds raised at Macmillan Coffee Morning
Healthcare communications provider, Cymphony hosted its Macmillan coffee morning on 27 September, featuring baked goods, coffee, and conversations, all with the goal of raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. To date, Cymphony has raised £800, which it will be doubling, bringing the total contribution to £1,600.
The event brought together Cymphony employees, clients, and communities across the country.
LV= announces partnership with Trussell
With LV= donating more than £30,000 to Trussell through corporate donations and colleague fundraising this year, the two organisations have announced an official partnership to further support local communities, particularly those around LV’s three UK offices in Bournemouth, Exeter and Hitchin, to make a positive and lasting impact.
As well as LV’s donations helping Trussell fund its Help through Hardship helpline, teams from across the business in Bournemouth, Exeter and Hitchin will be volunteering at local Trussell food banks and donating supplies via its office collection points.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.