Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Blooming Great Summer fundraiser returns at SPAR NI stores

Blooming Great Summer fundraiser returns at SPAR NI stores
Aarom McCracken

SPAR stores across Northern Ireland will be turning yellow this weekend in support of Marie Curie’s Blooming Great Summer fundraiser.

On 09 – 11 June, stores will raise funds for the charity that provides vital end of life care for thousands across the country, and for which SPAR NI has raised an incredible £753,839 since the partnership began in 2017.


The Blooming Great Summer fundraiser is sponsored by Punjana Tea and comes hot off the heels of Balmoral Show, where visitors raised £26,758 thanks to their donations in return for one of the infamous red hats. The total will be split between Marie Curie and Cancer Fund for Children.

During the Blooming Great Summer weekend, retailers across the country will be holding everything from bake sales to barbeques and spinathons to head shaves, to raise funds for this vital organisation.

There will be key activity happening at stores across Northern Ireland, including Wright’s SPAR Service Station in Portadown, R&J Foods in Coleraine, Hamilton’s SPAR Foodhall in Castlederg, Beatty’s SPAR Ballinamallard in Enniskillen, SPAR Seaforde on the Newcastle Road, and SPAR Landscape Filling Station on the Crumlin Road in Belfast.

SPAR Mallusk will also host Q Radio throughout the weekend, while the team will also welcome summer with their bold and bright holiday shirts to encourage donations. The team will be keeping a friend in mind who died from lung cancer in 2020, aged 34.

Danielle Martin, store manager, said: “The nurses from Marie Curie, meant the world to the family – they said they were their angels. We will be keeping everyone we have lost in our thoughts, and those who cared for them, throughout the weekend.”

Bronagh Luke, head of corporate marketing at Henderson Group which owns SPAR brand in Northern Ireland, commented: “As we welcome the summer days and nights, it is the perfect opportunity to get together for a fundraiser, and Marie Curie’s Blooming Great Summer is a great place to start.

“Every SPAR store across Northern Ireland supports Marie Curie as our official charity partner, and this is a chance to elevate that partnership and boost those much needed funds for the organisation. Shoppers can expect their stores to be awash with yellow over the weekend, however our flagship stores will be rising to the occasion and going the extra mile from challenges to treats to encourage donations, so please do support your local retail team!”

Conor O’Kane, senior partnership manager, Marie Curie added: “For five years SPAR NI has been smashing through fundraising milestones for Marie Curie, and now they have raised over £750,000.

“This is an incredible total that helps our organisation provide vital end of life care and support throughout local communities, and at our Belfast hospice. We are delighted to see the stores bring such imagination and creativity to their fundraising for the Blooming Great Summer weekend and send huge thanks to everyone for their efforts.”

More for you

Solar and wind power
iStock

Leading beverage brands join forces to accelerate renewable energy adoption

Ten global beverage companies have joined forces under a new industry-wide consortium, called REfresh Alliance, which is designed to help accelerate renewable energy adoption across the industry’s supply chain.

The new initiative invites additional companies from across the beverage industry to pool and scale their resources to remove barriers to renewable energy adoption in the supply chain, provide education on best market practices and support the industry’s transition to Net Zero.

Keep ReadingShow less
disposable vapes

Single-use disposable vapes are displayed for sale on October 27, 2024 in London, England

Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images

Vape industry concerned over chancellor’s vaping duty proposal

Vape industry bodies have raised concerns over chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget announcement introducing a flat-rate excise duty on vaping products, saying it could hurt public health and increase financial pressures on consumers.

The new excise tax, set to begin on October 1, 2026, will add £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid, with additional VAT. This rate replaces the previous government’s proposed tiered tax structure, which many in the industry had criticised.

Keep ReadingShow less
iStock 670818086

Rise of the lighter shopper: shift in buying benefits convenience

The latest findings highlighted by Lumina Intelligence Convenience Tracking Programme reveal a shift towards lighter shopping trips, the impact of weather on daytime meal occasions, and strategic growth in forecourt impulse purchases driven by expanded meal deal offerings.

The Convenience Tracking Programme has uncovered significant shifts in the UK's convenience shopping landscape, indicating a continued rise in market penetration with a notable trend towards "lighter" shopping. The number of shoppers in the market has grown, with an impressive +2.8 percentage point increase in year-on-year penetration. Managed convenience channels are driving much of this growth, reflecting heightened consumer interest in convenience store options.

Keep ReadingShow less
Drinking Less Beer

Beer volumes drop


Two of the biggest brewers Anheuser-Busch InBev and Carlsberg sold less than forecast in the third quarter as consumers, particularly in China, cut their spending by drinking less or choosing cheaper beer.

Keep ReadingShow less
£10K winner Ravindrasinh Bhatti

£10K winner Ravindrasinh Bhatti

£40K in prizes go to 22 National Lottery retailers in latest quarterly draws

£40K in prizes go to 22 National Lottery retailers in latest quarterly draws

Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, has announced that it has awarded 22 deserving National Lottery retailers with prizes totalling £40,000 in its two latest Site, Stock, Sell online quarterly prize draws.

Keep ReadingShow less