©InfoTesco has worked with the British Red Cross for over ten years. In 2009, it launched a unique emergency partnership that raised a massive £645,000 in its first year.
The partnership has helped the Red Cross provide support to people all over the world – from Cockermouth to Kenya – including disasters in ten international countries and emergencies in three UK communities.
It works through various different channels – corporate donations, store collections, employee fundraising, Tesco Clubcard promotions and donations of goods from stores.
A quick response
David Reid, Tesco chairman, said: "This partnership means we set aside money for quick response – money that the Red Cross knows is there and can be used – to add to their security and forward planning and to make sure that support arrives when it is needed, not days afterwards. In addition, when a major incident occurs in the UK, the Red Cross knows it can access food, water and supplies from local Tesco stores to bring relief to the affected community."
In January alone, a massive £495,881 was raised for the Haiti Earthquake Appeal through a nationwide store collection by Red Cross fundraisers and Tesco employees' own fundraising initiatives. The company donated a further £50,000 and its Clubcard scheme gave customers the opportunity to donate their Clubcard vouchers to the appeal. In total Tesco raised an incredible £555,000 to help the people of Haiti.
In addition, when the drought and food crisis in Kenya deteriorated rapidly in 2009, leaving an estimated four million people in dire need of humanitarian assistance, Tesco generously donated £25,000 to the appeal and led the way in the global corporate response to the crisis. It also meant Tesco was able to support its Kenyan suppliers through this difficult period.
Helping at home
©InfoOn a more local level, Tesco is there to help when emergency strikes in the UK. For example, when Cockermouth was flooded in 2009, local Tesco stores immediately activated their response – giving food supplies to Red Cross volunteers and donating essential supplies to those affected by the floods.
Sir Nick Young, chief executive of the British Red Cross, said: "We consider this partnership vitally important and unique because Tesco consistently mobilises all parts of its business to support us during an emergency. It makes an enormous difference to how we can respond and undoubtedly increases the number of innocent lives we save."