M&S Christmas Penny Bazaar raises £250,000 for the Legion
07 December 2009
Marks & Spencer have announced that its Christmas Penny Bazaars raised an amazing £750,000 for hundreds of charities across the country – including £250,000 for The Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal.
M&S hosted two Christmas charity events in November: a Christmas Penny Bazaar preview event for M&S cardholders at 134 stores, which raised £250,000 for The Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal; and the main Christmas Penny Bazaar at over 350 M&S stores, which raised £500,000 for local charities as selected by the participating stores.
Customers were able to pick up a range of traditional stocking fillers and festive gifts including socks, mugs, money boxes and ties, for just 1p. Over 100,000 people queued for the main Christmas Penny Bazaars at stores around the UK, with the earliest grabbing their place at the front of the queue at 6am. By 12pm over one million customers had visited M&S stores, more than double the average for a Friday morning.
Sir Stuart Rose, Chairman of Marks & Spencer said: "I'd like to thank our customers for their fantastic generosity during our Christmas Penny Bazaars. Whether it was our valued long-standing customers, or occasional shoppers on the look out for a festive bargain, everyone gave much more than the suggested 1p per item - meaning they helped hundreds of charities across the country whilst still getting a great deal."
Russell Thompson OBE, Director of National Events and Fundraising at The Royal British Legion said: "We are incredibly grateful for the very generous donation made to this year's Poppy Appeal by Marks & Spencer and its customers. This donation will help provide invaluable welfare services and support to the Armed Forces community."
