Hobbycraft superstars raise £1.5 Million for Together for Short Lives

Our longstanding charity partner, Hobbycraft, has reached an incredible fundraising milestone of £1.5 million for Together for Short Lives.

Hobbycraft has worked with Together for Short Lives for eight years and its dedicated store teams, head office staff and generous customers raise funds all year round to support seriously ill children and their families, as well as the lifeline children’s hospices that support them.

Activity throughout the year includes dedicated fundraising workshops, charity walks, bake sales, raffles and more. Micro-donations can also be made in store at the till via Pennies’ digital charity box. Since partnering with Pennies in 2016 Hobbycraft customers have raised £500,000 for charity, supporting the 54 children’s hospices across the UK, with over 2.5 million micro-donations being made.

The retailer ramped up its fundraising efforts in 2019 with the introduction of the exclusive Disney Frozen II Colour-in Arendelle Castle, with all profits from each sale going to Together for Short Lives. This was alongside the exclusive ‘Shine Together’ ceramic star Christmas decoration, with 50p from every purchase going to the charity.

Hobbycraft’s dedication to supporting us also saw Hobbycraft’s CEO Dominic Jordan and Andy Fletcher, CEO of Together for Short Lives, along with their colleagues Andrew Moulden, Michael Oates and David Poole, brave a 100 mile walk across Hadrian’s Wall – raising a fantastic £30,000.

Dominic Jordan, Chief Executive at Hobbycraft, comments: “We are so proud of the long running partnership we have with Together for Short Lives, and to have hit the £1.5million fundraising milestone. Together for Short Lives really makes a difference to the lives of so many children and families and our colleagues and customers really go that extra mile to help with raising vital funds for children every year. Here’s to many more years of raising vital funds for such a worthy cause.”

Andy Fletcher, CEO of Together for Short Lives, said: “We are so incredibly grateful to Hobbycraft for their support and cannot thank them enough for reaching this magnificent milestone. Right now, families with seriously ill children are struggling, but the children’s hospice services that support them are doing everything they can to ensure that they are able to spend precious time together as a family. It’s impossible to explain just how much this massive sum of money will mean to these services. Thanks to the staff and customers who have stitched, sewed and sequinned their way to £1.5 million.”

Alison Hutchinson CBE, CEO of Pennies, added: “Pennies has long been proud to partner with Hobbycraft and their incredibly generous customers who, between them, make thousands of micro-donations at the till every week. To raise £500,000, just 20p at a time on a purchase, is a huge achievement and makes a tangible difference to children’s hospices in their communities. Micro-donations really do matter, and Hobbycraft customers are proof of just how little things do add up to big impact.”