Marks and Spencer Cards

2001 MARKS & SPENCER RAISES £438,000 FROM CHARITY CHRISTMAS CARD SALES MONEY FUNDS ANTI-BULLYING HELPLINE FOR TWO YEARS!

Marks & Spencer is pleased to announce that it has raised £438,000 as a result of the sales of its charity Christmas cards over the festive period, an increase of over £100,000 on last year. The money will be split between six charities who will each receive a donation of £73,000.

The charities include Kidscape, Gingerbread, CancerBACUP, the National Homeless Alliance, Groundwork UK and Young Enterprise. One of the charities for whom this donation will have a major impact is Kidscape. The money will not only assist Kidscape in the cost of its anti-bullying helpline but FULLY fund it for two years. It will also help the charity print and distribute free child safety books for the next three years. "

A donation of 73,000 is an extraordinary amount of money to Kidscape. Our annual running costs are approximately £300,000 - that means that Marks & Spencer helped to secure over 20% of Kidscape's annual budget through the Charity Christmas Card proceeds," says Megan Bruns from Kidscape. "Given that each year 10-14 youth suicides are directly attributed to bullying, Marks & Spencer's long-standing support of Kidscape anti-bullying programmes is so crucial - especially during these times of violence in schools where children are increasingly in danger at the hands of their peers," say Kidscape.

Another charity who will benefit substantially from this donation is Gingerbread. Gingerbread's Chief Executive Amanda Ball said, "This is corporate support at its best. Gingerbread helps lone parents to protect their children from poverty and disadvantage.

Thanks to this wonderful donation from Marks & Spencer, many more vulnerable lone parents and their children will benefit from Gingerbread's grass roots support." Ed Williams, Marks & Spencer Head of Corporate Social Responsibility said, " With over 300 stores across the country we see ourselves as an integral part of the community. We are delighted that we have been able to build partnerships with so many community organisations.

The success of the Christmas card fundraising has exceeded all expectations, and as a result we hope to help many more charities with this programme in the future." These charities were chosen because they work on areas which Marks & Spencer has a strong commitment to, such as health, education and providing help to those who are socially excluded. The cards were available in all stores across the country and 10 per cent of the cost of the cards went directly to the charities. As all of the cards were designed and produced by Marks & Spencer, the charities incurred no manufacturing costs. ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Chris Hunter-Ward or Amy Kitson, Corporate Press Office on 020 7268 1919

NOTES TO EDITORS · Gingerbread is the voice of lone parents and their children and develops services to meet the needs of lone parent families. · Kidscape is a national charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse and bullying. · CancerBACUP is the UK's leading national cancer information and support charity. · The National Homeless Alliance works with and supports a number of front line homeless charities, offering practical support and the latest policy research and funding advice. · Groundwork UK is a leading environmental regeneration charity making sustainable development a reality in the UK's poorest neighbourhoods. · Young Enterprise is a national education charity founded to forge links between schools and industry so that young people can learn and succeed through enterprise.

...helping to prevent bullying and child abuse 1985 - 2008

About Kidscape

2001 MARKS & SPENCER RAISES £438,000 FROM CHARITY CHRISTMAS CARD SALES MONEY FUNDS ANTI-BULLYING HELPLINE FOR TWO YEARS!