Clothing retailer TK Maxx has announced that it has raised £25.5m for Cancer Research UK through its Give Up Clothes for Good campaign which has been running since 2004.
In a statement released today, TK Maxx said that of the £25.5m total, £21.5m will go directly towards funding “vital research into children’s cancers”, while the remaining £4m will go towards supporting general cancer research.
The £21.5m figure raised by TK Maxx through its campaign makes it the biggest corporate funder of research into children’s cancers in the UK.
TK Maxx’s Give Up Clothes for Good campaign encourages people to drop off unwanted clothes and accessories in special donation bins provided in the company’s stores around the UK. These items are then collected and sold at Cancer Research UK charity shops.
Additional funds are raised by the retailers through cash donations and staff fundraising.
TK Maxx and Cancer Research UK have been in a partnership since 2004, and the retailer became the lead partner for the charity’s Kids and Teens campaign when it launched in 2015.
Jo Murphy, head of corporate responsibility at TK Maxx Europe, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the exceptional generosity of our customers and associates over the years to help us reach this momentous milestone of £25 million.
“We are very proud of the contribution that we can make that will help Cancer Research UK do the vital work to beat kids’ cancers and support improvement in treatments and cures for children affected by cancer."
Sir Harpal Kumar, chief executive at Cancer Research UK said: “We’re overwhelmed by the amount of money that TK Maxx staff and customers have raised since 2004 and would like to thank everyone that has supported Give Up Clothes for Good over the years.
"Back in the 1970s, more than a third of children with cancer survived beyond ten years. Today, it is around three quarters and our work has been at the heart of this. But many of these children have long-term side effects from the treatments we use.
“We can’t stop here - our ambition is to double the amount we spend on children’s cancer research over the next five to ten years to help save more lives.”
Related articles
