North West retailer’s fundraising efforts help SuperValu and Centra close in on £3m target

North West retailer’s fundraising efforts help  SuperValu and Centra close in on £3m target

SuperValu and Centra on track to raise a massive £3m for Action Cancer target thanks to Fundraising Week efforts from retailers across Northern Ireland

Leading Northern Ireland retailers SuperValu and Centra are edging closer to a major fundraising milestone, as they announce expectations to raise £3million for Action Cancer by the end of 2019.

This year alone, SuperValu and Centra retailers across Northern Ireland have raised £112,000 for Action Cancer. By the end of the Christmas period, SuperValu and Centra expect to hit an overall total of £2,900,000 raised for Action Cancer to date, bringing them within reach of their £3m fundraising goal.

The phenomenal fundraising efforts of SuperValu and Centra retailers, alongside head office staff, has resulted in what is believed to be amongst the largest amounts ever raised by a company for an individual charity in Northern Ireland.

Every year, Centra and SuperValu retailers pull out all the stops to raise much-needed funds for the cancer charity. During SuperValu and Centra’s annual Fundraising Week initiative for 2018  (October 22-31), the companies pulled in an impressive £16,000 in just one week. This year, on top of their usual in-store endeavours, Centra and SuperValu stores went the extra mile by selling apple pies over the Halloween period for £2, with £1 from each purchase donated to Action Cancer.

Stores in the North West truly embraced the Halloween spirit, accounting for more than a third of the total apple pie sales. However, it was Kelly’s Centra store, located on the Trench Road in Derry/Londonderry, which excelled, selling over 800 apple pies in just one week.

David Kelly, of Kelly’s Centra in Trench Road, Derry/Londonderry, was delighted to hear that his store had come top of the list for their efforts during Fundraising Week. He said: “Derry/Londonderry is a fantastic place to be at Halloween so it’s no surprise that our customers were so keen to get on board with our Fundraising Week efforts for Action Cancer.

“We are very proud of the contribution we have made to the impressive overall total raised for Action Cancer to date. This is an extremely important cause that touches the heart of our community and I would like to thank all of my staff for their dedication to their work.”

Brendan Gallen, head of marketing at SuperValu and Centra added: “Reaching this incredible figure would not be possible without the immense support of individual retailers such as David Kelly. We would like to thank David, his team and all of the retailers across the province who have pulled out all the stops in 2018 to raise funds that will support the vital work of Action Cancer.

“Fundraising Week is the highlight of our charity calendar and it is fantastic to see both staff and customers getting on board with our campaigns to raise cash for a deserving cause.”

Funds raised by SuperValu and Centra help to support a range of projects, including the Health Action Programme for Children, supported by Centra and delivered by Action Cancer, which encourages children to take steps to prevent cancer in later life and the Big Bus mobile breast screening unit, supported by SuperValu since 2006.

For more information about this charity partnership, visit www.supervalu.co.uk or www.centra.co.uk