Tesco Staff and Customers Raise Record Breaking £11.85 Million to Help Beat Cancer

Dedicated Tesco staff and customers have raised a record breaking £11.85 million in one year for Cancer Research UK’s lifesaving work.

The final sum smashed the £10 million fundraising target set at the start of the Charity of the Year partnership in March 2012 and is the biggest amount ever raised by a business and charity partnership in that time frame.

Staff, customers and suppliers at more than 3,000 stores, distribution centres and offices across the UK helped to contribute to the final total through a raft of different fundraising initiatives and events including:

-A festive-themed ‘Cycle to Lapland’ static bike ride which raised more than £1 million over one weekend in Tesco stores across the UK
-Gruelling treks by Tesco staff members to Everest Basecamp and the Sahara which together raised more than £191,000
-TV-themed competitions ‘Tesco Does Strictly’ and ‘Tesco Distribution’s Got Talent’ which raised more than £68,000

Money raised through the partnership is being invested in 32 early diagnosis and detection research projects helping to ensure more people receive treatment at a time when it is more likely to be successful.

Some of the many projects benefitting from Tesco support include research in London and Cambridge investigating genetic changes that can increase a person’s risk of certain common cancers. The team working on this groundbreaking science has already discovered genetic alterations that can increase a person’s risk of breast, prostate and ovarian cancers, in the largest ever study of its kind. This funding will help bring scientists closer to being able to target screening tests to those at the greatest risk of these cancers.

Throughout the partnership Tesco and Cancer Research UK also worked together to raise awareness of the early signs and symptoms of cancer with eight million leaflets containing vital health information placed on store checkouts.

Richard Taylor, Cancer Research UK executive director of fundraising and marketing said:

“Tesco staff, customers and suppliers have gone above and beyond to raise a record breaking amount of money for our lifesaving work over the past year.

“The dedication they have put into raising vital funds to help improve the early diagnosis and detection of cancer particularly during a time of economic uncertainty has been truly inspiring.

“Thanks to Tesco’s support our scientists can now focus on even more research to find out how we can get cancer diagnosed earlier and help many more people to survive cancer in the future.”

Rebecca Shelley, Group Corporate Affairs Director at Tesco said:

“I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to all our customers, colleagues and suppliers who have contributed towards such an amazing year of fundraising activity for Cancer Research UK – your effort and generosity has been truly inspirational and just goes to show how Tesco can use its scale for good to help communities across the UK.

“Raising a record-breaking £11.85million to help in the fight against a disease that touches so many of our lives is an incredible achievement, but this year has been about so much more than raising money.

“It’s been all the challenges, campaigns and activities our colleagues and customers have completed, often to raise awareness and hope for someone close to them that has inspired and impressed me most of all. Thanks to your hard work and support, Cancer Research UK can now invest in even more life-saving work.”

Notes to editors

-Full research published here: www.nature.com/ng/journal/v45/n4/full/ng.2587.html

-Cancer Research UK was Tesco Charity of the Year 2012. The money raised will fund 32 early diagnosis and detection research projects across the UK. This will help more people survive cancer and keep more families together www.cancerresearchuk.org/tesco

-Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research. The charity’s pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives. Cancer Research UK receives no government funding for its life-saving research. Every step it makes towards beating cancer relies on every pound donated. Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival rates in the UK double in the last forty years. Cancer Research UK supports research into all aspects of cancer through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses. Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK’s vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured. For further information about Cancer Research UK’s work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 0300 123 1861 or visit www.cancerresearchuk.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook

-Tesco Charity of the Year - Since 1988, Tesco has chosen a different charity every year to be the focus for colleague fundraising. The Tesco Charity Trust tops up staff fundraising by 20%, up to a maximum of £500,000. www.tesco.com

-The partnership with Cancer Research UK has been supported by a range of product promotions in Tesco stores which carried a donation to the charity. A donation of 0.0125p was made by Tesco Personal Finance PLC every time a cash machine was used at Tesco until 29 February 2013. Clubcard customers also donated their points to the charity.

-Tesco is committed to helping the nation fight cancer and since 2000 has raised over £30 million to help a range of UK cancer charities to deliver services in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for people in communities across the UK. In 2010, Tesco raised £7.5 million in one year to ensure every child being treated for cancer in the UK had access to a CLIC Sargent children’s cancer nurse. In addition, Tesco has recently funded a pilot nutrition project with the University College London Hospital (UCLH) to improve access to free food for teenagers receiving treatment for cancer in hospital, helping them to avoid developing cachexia. Tesco are in the business of ensuring people have good, nutritious food and are therefore in a unique position to help people who suffer from weight loss and muscle wasting as a result of their cancer treatment.