SPAR NI has raised over £97,000 for Marie Curie in just six months, smashing through its £60K in a year fundraising target in celebration of the brand’s 60th birthday in Northern Ireland.

Over £50,000 alone was raised during the outstanding success of the Blooming Great Birth-tea Parties in June, where retailers across NI donned silly wigs, felt the burn through spin-a-thons, held giveaways and raffles, all while exchanging a cuppa and a bun for donations to Marie Curie, the brand’s charity partner for the past four years.

£26,000 has also been raised through the sale of branded Marie Curie face coverings throughout stores in NI. A total of £452,000 has now been raised by SPAR NI since the beginning of the partnership, bringing the team ever closer towards the half a million-pound milestone.

Bronagh Luke, Head of Corporate Marketing at Henderson Group which owns the SPAR brand in Northern Ireland said they are delighted to have smashed through their target of £60,000 – one they hoped to achieve by the end of the year.

“What a fantastic comeback for our in-store fundraising for Marie Curie, we are just so grateful to our retailers and store teams for buying into the concept and all of our shoppers who supported their local stores and this fantastic charity on the day.

“To reach this figure halfway through our birthday year just goes to show what we can achieve for those who most need it in our local communities, and we are determined to keep the fundraising going for the rest of this special year and beyond.”

It’s been 60 years since SPAR NI arrived in Northern Ireland in 1961, and the team at Hendersons has been ensuring its shoppers, retailers and charity partners are celebrated all year.

Conor O’Kane, Senior Partnership Manager at Marie Curie added; “This is just fantastic! We were blown away when SPAR NI pledged the £60,000 for the year and for them to reach £97,000 already is just incredible, but not surprising as we know how much hard work the team puts into such events, as well as the support from loyal retailers and shoppers.

“I had a lot of fun meeting Olivia Nash at SPAR Sunnyside Street for their birth-tea party, it was great to see such an effort made by the store, and all stores, to create a safe space to raise the vital funds needed to keep our nursing care in the community and Hospice services thriving.”

SPAR’s enjoy local round cake continues to be on sale throughout the rest of the year, with 60p from the sale of each cake going towards SPAR and EUROSPAR charity partners.

For more on SPAR NI’s birthday celebrations, visit spar-ni.co.uk.

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