FirstGroup
With FirstGroup - the UK’s leading public transport provider - we’ve raised vital awareness of prostate cancer through gift in kind advertising and pocket guide resources.
Starting lifesaving journeys with the UK's leading provider of public transport
In 2014, FirstGroup’s 25,000 strong UK workforce voted for Prostate Cancer UK as their charity of choice for a three-year partnership (April 2015 – March 2018), with the ambition of raising £1 million in fundraising, corporate donations, and the commercial value of Gift in Kind advertising on buses and at railway stations.
Over the course of the partnership, employee fundraising and company donations have funded the production of one million ‘Know your prostate’ pocket guides and ensured more men have access to this vital health message. FirstGroup has also donated hugely valuable advertising space throughout their bus and rail networks across the UK to promote Prostate Cancer UK’s health awareness campaigns and the support available from the charity. The partnership has exceeded all expectations due to the commitment and generosity of everyone connected to FirstGroup – and has achieved a partnership value of more than £1.5 million since April 2015.
Our partnership aimed to start lifesaving journeys for FirstGroup’s employees, customers and the wider community. Prostate cancer remains the most common cancer facing men, and the impact of a diagnosis affects an entire family. We wanted to ensure that all FirstGroup’s stakeholders understood their risk of prostate cancer, had greater awareness of the disease and had greater awareness of our services.
The Impact
· £1.5 million donated.
· More than one million pocket guides produced.
· Thousands of pounds worth of advertisement space donated.
How?
FirstGroup and its companies, including First Bus, TransPennine Express and Great Western Railway, donated over £100,000 from various initiatives. Great Western Railway held charity auctions of railway memorabilia, and TransPennine Express donated a sum for each customer who opted to print their travel tickets at home, raising over £40,000 between them. FirstGroup increased this total through initiatives such as match funding employees’ fundraising, and donating £5 per nomination for every entry received into its annual employee recognition awards.
Alongside this, First Bus donated around £150,000 of advertising space on its buses to help raise awareness of Prostate Cancer UK’s pledge to solve diagnosis problems which are blamed for many of the UK’s prostate cancer deaths. The in-kind donation helped to launch our ‘Men United’ poster campaign, highlighting how one man dies every hour from prostate cancer in the UK, and what commuters can do to help put a stop to it.
More information about what was achieved in partnership can be found in our Impact Report:
A key aim of our partnership is to ensure FirstGroup’s employees, customers and the wider community know their risk of prostate cancer, raising awareness of the disease and the support available from the charity. I’m proud of the enthusiasm and passion that so many of our employees have shown for fundraising and supporting Prostate Cancer UK. It is truly inspiring.”
If you’re considering your next charity of the year, get in touch with the Partnerships Team.
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