Publisher hands over £91,500 to trio of incredible causes
There’s been a cracker of a charity donation from IG Design Group with the publisher donating £91,500 to a trio of incredible causes.
As the company marked the 175th anniversary of the invention of the Christmas cracker by Tom Smith, part of the IG group, 2022 sales enabled £88,000 to be given to long-term charity partners the Trussell Trust, £1,000 to Marie Curie Hospice, and £2,500 to the Velindre Cancer Centre.
The Trussell Trust supports a nationwide network of 1,200 food banks and provides emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, as well as campaigning for change to end the need for food banks in the UK.
This is the fourth year IG has raised money through the sales of Tom Smith crackers and UK-made cards to support the Trussell Trust, having raised over £210,000 so far, and the company is very pleased to have been able to support the charity with an extra contribution this year, especially as, for the first time ever, food banks are giving out more food than is being donated.
Tom Smith has held a royal warrant since 1911 for supplying Christmas crackers and wrapping paper to the family, including Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and 2022 was also the 125th anniversary of the Royal Warrant Holders’ Association Charity Fund where IG Design Group e-commerce and brand manager Katie Brickle represents the company at Highgrove, and she is currently the first Madam President and the youngest yet.
“Through the support of the Royal Warrant Charity and Tom Smith,” Katie said, “I was extremely honoured and delighted to present Velindre Cancer Centre with a donation of £2,500, which will pay for world class, research-led treatment, care and support for patients and families affected by cancer.
“I also had the pleasure of presenting Marie Curie Hospice with a donation of £1,000, to pay for 50 hours of care from a Marie Curie nurse within the hospice – and we donated Christmas crackers to all the nurses at both charities.”
In other IG news, it has also been busy on the product front, setting up a brand-new Eco Nature space as an addition to its Eco Nature room at its Newport Pagnell offices showcasing the sustainable brand “produced with integrity, kindness and responsibility”.
As Katie added: “This space will be used to present to potential and existing buyers, and for our team to get creative! It’s so exciting to see Eco Nature expanding and to have another place that really shows us as a brand.”
Top: Tom Smith cracker sales earned an £88,000 donation to The Trussell Trust
