Coffee beans are at the ready in SuperValu, Centra and Mace stores across Northern Ireland, as the retail brands call on coffee loving customers to buy a coffee and Espresso they care in a fundraising campaign for Action Cancer and Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke.
Announced today on International Coffee Day, the initiative will run from this Thursday (3rd October) until Sunday (6th October). 50p from the sale of every Frank and Honest Coffee in participating SuperValu, Centra and Mace stores, will go straight to the brands’ charity partners to help them continue to provide their life-saving and support services.
This is the fourth time the ‘Espresso We Care’ fundraising campaign will take place, with last year’s initiative raising almost £26,000, bringing the overall total raised to an incredible £68,000 thanks to caring coffee drinking customers.
These funds go directly to help keep Action Cancer’s mobile clinic the Big Bus on the road, bringing its breast screening service, health checks and skin cancer detection clinic to communities across Northern Ireland, and enable Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke to continue to deliver care services and health promotion programmes to thousands of people living with, or at risk of developing chest, heart, and stroke conditions.
Director of Marketing at Musgrave NI, which owns the retail brands, Desi Derby, said:
“Supporting local is very important to Musgrave and our SuperValu, Centra and Mace stores, and we are very proud of our long-term partnerships with these local charities. We’re delighted to run this fundraising campaign again for the fourth time and hope our caring customers will pick up a coffee when they’re in-store and help us raise funds for two very worthwhile causes.”
SuperValu and Centra have been partnering with Action Cancer since 2001, and to date have raised more than £3.8million for the charity.
Thanking SuperValu and Centra staff and their customers, Gareth Kirk, CEO of Action Cancer said:
“We are delighted that SuperValu and Centra are running their ‘Espresso We Care’ coffee campaign once again this year. We have been able to provide communities throughout Northern Ireland with our life-saving breast screening service and health checks on board the Big Bus for the last 24 years, all thanks to the continued support of SuperValu and Centra customers and employees. Last year, we expanded our list of mobile services available on board the Big Bus to include a new skin cancer detection service.
"From October 3 to October 6, please purchase a Frank and Honest coffee to support this wonderful initiative. Not only will you enjoy a delicious cup of coffee, but you will also be helping Action Cancer make a positive difference to the lives of local people."
MACE’s partnership with Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke dates back to 2016 and has so far raised £313,000 for the charity.
Declan Cunnane, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke, added:
“We deliver vital care and prevention services across Northern Ireland, as well as carrying out extensive research into how to prevent chest, heart and stroke illnesses. Today, as many as 1 in 3 people here are living with these conditions and we are committed to supporting them. This year 34,587 people and organisations benefited from our services, however, almost 90% of our income comes from public donations.
“We very much appreciate the ongoing support of Mace customers and would encourage them to pop into their local store during this campaign and pick up a coffee. Their generosity will enable us to help more local people living with chest, heart and stroke conditions and their families.”
Starting at £2.70 for a Frank and Honest coffee, 50p from the sale of each coffee will be donated to the charities over the four-day period.
