The team at ViVO Granville in Dungannon are dedicating the 10-year anniversary of their store to fundraising for Children’s Heartbeat Trust.

The store, which is owned and operated by Chris Robb, opened in July 2015 with 5 employees and now employs 16 from the local area.

To celebrate their anniversary, the store has spent the year organising fundraising events and initiatives and have raised over £2,000 for the charity so far. In July, the store celebrated 10 years of serving their local community with a fun day, families were welcomed to enjoy food sampling, a bouncy castle and a raffle with exciting prizes including hampers and instore vouchers.

The team took part in an instore treadmill battle, walking a combined 45.3 miles in aid of the charity. Team members also completed a sponsored walk and this month, four staff members, Amy, Stacey, Rebecca and Vanessa took part in a sponsored skydive to encourage donations.

The store isn’t stopping there with many more fundraising plans for the rest of the year including swapping their uniforms for dress up days and hamper giveaways for lucky shoppers.

Giving back to their local community has always been at the heart of the store, also fundraising for other local charities including Age NI.

Amy Crawford, store manager commented, “I’m so proud of our team and the effort and dedication they have shown to fundraising for this deserving charity. We wish to extend a huge thank you to all our shoppers and local community who have supported us, and we look forward to continuing our fundraising efforts for the rest of the year.”

Over 100 ViVO and ViVO Essentials stores across NI are fundraising and raising awareness for Children’s Heartbeat Trust, after the new charity partnership was established this year.

Bronagh Luke from ViVO NI says this partnership is an opportunity for shoppers and the wider public to learn more about Children’s Heartbeat Trust thanks to their large network of stores throughout Northern Ireland.

“Children’s Heartbeat Trust is a local charity that resonates with our retailers, staff and shoppers. They have supported thousands of children with heart diseases and their families over the years, and unfortunately, each year another 200 children are diagnosed with a heart condition in Northern Ireland.

“We are incredibly proud to engage our network of stores and teams of staff with the charity, helping them to raise their profile even more in Northern Ireland, while contributing financial support towards their vital services from our fundraising efforts.

“We’re very proud of the team at ViVO Granville for dedicating this milestone year to fundraising for the charity.”

Lynn Cowan, Fundraising Manager from Children’s Heartbeat Trust added, “We are incredibly grateful to Chris, Amy, and the entire team at ViVO Granville for their amazing dedication and generosity in support of Children’s Heartbeat Trust. We have loved the team’s passion and creativity shown. The fabulous donations raised by the team and their amazing customers and community will help make a real difference in helping deliver vital support to children and young people living with heart disease across Northern Ireland. We are so thankful for everyone’s support.”

The charity which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year is the leading children’s charity focused on supporting children and young people with congenital heart disease and their families across Northern Ireland.  Their mission is to ensure that every child with heart disease is supported at every stage of their journey through high-quality, inclusive, clinical, practical, and emotional support.

Last year, Children’s Heartbeat Trust granted over £110,000 of financial support to 216 families who needed to travel outside of Northern Ireland for surgery or who had an extended stay in hospital, as well as provided emotional bedside support to over 300 children, and their families, while they were in hospital.

To find out more about ViVO and ViVO Essentials and their partnership with Children’s Heartbeat Trust, visit  www.childrensheartbeattrust.org.

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