Lidl Northern Ireland and NSPCC Northern Ireland have celebrated a successful seven-year partnership in which the region’s fastest-growing retailer has helped to raise a record £1M, to help keep children safe across Northern Ireland.
NSPCC was chosen by Lidl NI as its preferred charity partner in 2017 for an initial three-year period but this was extended in 2020, and again in 2022 due to its unprecedented success.
The groundbreaking collaboration has helped to make a significant difference to the lives of countless children through a range of activities and initiatives driven by Lidl Northern Ireland employees across its 41 stores and supported locally by Lidl’s valued customers.
The milestone fundraising achievement was marked at a celebratory event held this week at the Kingfisher Country Estate in County Antrim and was attended by representatives from Lidl and NSPCC, partners and supporters.
Hosted by well-known Q Radio presenter, DJ and charity supporter Ibe Sesay, the event recapped on the outstanding success of the partnership and outlined key impacts delivered since it was established in 2017 – including how money raised by Lidl Northern Ireland and its customers helps to support NSPCC’s Childline service which answers a call from a child every 25 seconds.
Ivan Ryan, Regional Managing Director, Lidl Northern Ireland said,
“Choosing the right charity partner matters and we’ve always been incredibly inspired by the work of the NSPCC. Throughout this past seven years, our local team and customers have been passionately dedicated to helping NSPCC provide the vital support needed to keep children safe so that they can grow up healthy and thrive.
Together, we have been able to achieve remarkable outcomes over the course of this partnership and support vital services within our local communities where we live and work. Across 41 stores we have hosted everything from spinathons to superhero dress-up days and of course our annual fundraising events as part of our flagship Trolley Dash campaign.
While we’re sad to see this partnership come to an end, we are so proud of the impact we’ve made together to help and support the children and families in need across the region.”
Funds raised through the partnership have contributed to the running of NSPCC NI’s Belfast and Foyle Childline bases; it has supported the training of practitioners at the NSPCC’s two Service Centres in Northern Ireland and supported NSPCC Northern Ireland’s flagship Speak Out Stay Safe Schools programme – one of the most highly demanded initiatives aimed at raising awareness amongst children of their right to be safe from abuse and neglect. Speak Out Stay Safe was delivered to 189 schools across the region, reaching over 45,000 local children.
Lidl’s annual celebrity-led Trolley Dash campaign was a big winner for the charity, with thousands of customers across the region taking part each year to be in with the chance of winning a supermarket sweep-style dash around their local store to grab as much of their Christmas shopping as possible in two minutes. Over the course of the partnership, the initiative raised more than £640,000 for the charity.
Lidl Northern Ireland also supported the NSPCC’s annual Childhood Day initiative, hosting a special in-store Superhero Day where staff and shoppers were encouraged to don their favourite superhero costume to raise vital funds. Over the course of the partnership, this annual campaign raised more than £40,000 for NSPCC. It also teamed up with a local couple in Derry-Londonderry to help raise NSPCC funds in a Christmas Lights for Charity campaign while in Newtownards, a pop-up, fun-filled Lidl Elf Factory helped to power resources.
From child book days to seasonal charity flower bouquets, customers right across Northern Ireland rose to the challenge to deliver spectacular results.
Lidl Northern Ireland is deeply committed to supporting its local communities and as part of its wider sustainability objectives, choosing a charity partner plays a central role in that commitment.
Stefani Mearns, Fundraising Manager NSPCC Northern Ireland, commented:
“On behalf of everyone at NSPCC Northern Ireland, I would like to thank Lidl Northern Ireland for its continued support throughout the past seven years. We are forever grateful for the unwavering support and commitment of its employees and customers throughout the course of our partnership.
“Their dedication to our cause has been groundbreaking for our charity – it has and will continue to go a long way in helping to make an enormous difference to the children and families of Northern Ireland.
“The NSPCC is here to support all children who need to make use of our specialist services – or simply, someone to talk to. Over the past seven years, Lidl Northern Ireland has helped to make this possible.”
