Blooming Great Summer fundraiser returns at SPAR NI stores

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.”