Premier raises more than £20k for cancer charity

Premier Paper has raised more than £20,000 for Breast Cancer Care, following a successful fundraising campaign in recognition of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The paper merchant carried out a raft of fundrasing activities, one of which saw a team from the company embark on ‘The Winter Wolf Run’.

This is a 10k endurance race featuring a series of man-made and natural obstacles throughout the course, which took place at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire on 5 and 6 November.

The group also held a coffee morning at the Premier Minworth head office and ran a product promotion on its MultiCopy range that saw £10 for every tone sold during October given to the charity.

Furthermore, the business sold Breast Cancer Care pin badges during October, which were available through all of its sales branches and from all of its staff. 5,000 of these badges were sold and the firm donated an extra £1 to the charity for every badge sold, bringing the total raised from this initiative alone to £10,000.

Additionally, the group provided all of the graphics and display items for the Breast Cancer Care show that took place on 2 November at the Park Plaza Westminster hotel in London.

Premier Paper Group marketing director Dave Jones said: “We have supported Breast Cancer Care for the past five years by providing goods and services in-kind. We provide logistic support for both the London and Glasgow fashion shows and the London show alone raised £300,000 for this very important cause.

“Breast cancer is an illness that has touched many people in many ways and there are a number of people within our company and amongst our customers who have been directly or indirectly affected by the condition. The support that the charity gives to people with breast cancer is so important."

Premier also provides either direct support or sponsorship to charities including The Woodland Trust, The Stationers’ Foundation and In-Kind Direct, which is a charity founded by HRH The Prince of Wales to redistribute goods from suppliers to a network of trusted UK charities.

“We select charities and good causes that have some relevance for us, both personally and commercially," said Jones.

“An important part of our marketing strategy is cause-related marketing. Being involved with and supporting causes that are important and relevant to your business and stakeholders is an effective way of demonstrating the ethos and values of our organisation.

“We also believe that you should not be too modest and discreet about the work you do with charities. After all, if you tell everyone then it may inspire others to also become involved with charitable organisations and help make a difference to a chosen cause."

Separately, Premier also recently took 20 customers along with students from Exeter College as part of a volunteering clearing day at Houndtor Woods, Bovey Valley, held in conjunction with The Woodland Trust.

The day was organised in order to help clear Douglas fir saplings in Houndtor Woods, which is located on the edge of Dartmoor National Park in Devon, in preparation for the planting of more natural woodland at the site, which will take place from now until March.