FirstGroup

Starting lifesaving journeys with the UK's number one public transport provider

FirstGroup’s UK workforce of 25,000 people voted for us as their charity of choice for a three-year partnership, which ran from April 2015 to March 2018. We set an ambitious target - to raise £1 million through 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 corporate donations helped us produce 1 million ‘know your prostate’ pocket guides, giving more men access to this vital health information. FirstGroup also generously donated valuable advertising space on their bus and rail networks across the UK, promoting our health awareness campaigns and support services.

The partnership has exceeded all expectations, thanks to the commitment and generosity of everyone at FirstGroup, with an incredible partnership value of more than £1.5 million since April 2015. 

A partnership that's exceeded all expectations

Our partnership aimed to start lifesaving journeys for FirstGroup’s employees, customers and wider communities. Because we know prostate cancer remains the most common cancer among men - and the impact of a diagnosis affects entire families.

We wanted to make sure FirstGroup’s stakeholders understood their risk of prostate cancer, had greater awareness of the disease and could easily find out about our information and support services. 

Employee fundraising, corporate donations and gift in kind advertising

FirstGroup and its companies - including First Bus, TransPennine Express and Great Western Railway - donated over £100,000 through various initiatives. For example, Great Western Railway held charity auctions of railway memorabilia, while TransPennine Express donated a sum for each customer who opted to print their travel tickets at home. Between them they raised over £40,000 - and FirstGroup increased this total by match-funding their employees’ fundraising and donating £5 for every entry into its annual staff recognition awards.  

Alongside this, First Bus donated around £150,000 of advertising space on its buses to help raise awareness of our pledge to improve diagnosis of prostate cancer. The gift 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. 

You can find more information about our partnership with FirstGroup in our Impact Report.