Hobbycraft raise over £3m for charity partner Together for Short Lives

Hobbycraft are celebrating having raised £3.1 million for its charity partner, Together for Short Lives, after raising over £440,000 in 2023.

Together for Short Lives is the leading UK charity for all children with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions and all those who support, love and care for them, including children’s hospices. Each Hobbycraft store is twinned with their local children’s hospice, ensuring colleague fundraising directly supports children and families in the community where they live and work.

Since the founding of the partnership in 2012, Hobbycraft colleagues have incorporated Together for Short Lives into every aspect of their work, using their creative fundraising ideas to raise over £3 million and build awareness for its cause with customers across the country.

The arts and craft retailer hosts monthly in-store fundraising events including bake sales, fancy dress days, raffles and more, whilst colleagues often taking on personal challenges such as bike rides, hikes and marathons, helping raise money for their local hospice in the process. In September Hobbycraft and Together for Short Lives will be joining forces to take on a 100-mile four day trek in Devon, with the goal of raising £50,000 – donations can be made at https://bit.ly/Charity_Trek. The trek, which happens every year in a different location around the UK, started 10 years ago, and has raised over £350,000 in the last decade.

Customers can support the cause daily by choosing to add a donation of 20p to Together for Short Lives when paying by card in-store, and this customer generosity has led to over £500,000 being raised through micro-donations.

Each year, Hobbycraft donate proceeds from the sale of exclusive charity products including Together for Short Lives bags for life, Shine Together Butterfly Suncatcher and Shine Together Ceramic Star.

These fundraising tactics led to a total donation of £442,148 in 2023, with some of the top performing stores including:

• Hobbycraft Bristol who raised nearly £10,000, who are partnered with Children’s Hospice South West
• Hobbycraft Warrington for raising over £8,000, who are partnered with Claire House Children’s Hospice
• Hobbycraft Bournemouth who raised over £7,000, who are partnered with Julia’s House Children’s Hospice

The retailer has continued to support its charity partner with a wide range of fundraising activities in 2024 and are expected to reach over £3.5m by the end of the year. Recent activity includes the 99,000 steps challenge taken on by multiple stores, supporting Children’s Hospice Week in June, and an in-store Easter egg hunt in March.

This August, Hobbycraft hosted its popular ‘Superhero Saturday’ in which members of staff dress up as their favourite heroes and spend the day creating masks, capes and cakes for customers. They will also be hosting an in-store Halloween Spooktacular event this October.

These donations help raise vital funds all year round for the 54 children’s hospices around the UK who provide clinical, emotional, and practical support for children and families through art, play, music, and hydrotherapy; bereavement support; respite care and short breaks for families; practical and emotional support for family members. Specialist hospice nurses help with the control of pain and other distressing symptoms for seriously ill children – just £2,500 could fund a specialist children’s palliative care nurse for one month, and the £3.1m raised so far could help fund over 1,500 months in total.

In addition to fundraising, Hobbycraft donate crafting supplies to hospices for use in their art therapy services for families, and deliver a range of workshops for families caring for a life-limited child, and those who have been bereaved, providing access to expert support as well as the opportunity to benefit from the positive impact of arts and crafts on health and wellbeing.

Dominic Jordan, Chief Executive at Hobbycraft, comments: “The £3m fundraising total is a fantastic achievement and a testament to our colleagues and customers who remain dedicated to raising vital funds for such a worthy charity. Together for Short Lives makes such 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. This amazing support has not stopped in 2024, and we expect to hit a landmark £3.5m total by the end of the year. Here’s to many more years of fundraising challenges!”

Andy Fletcher, Chief Executive at Together for Short Lives comments: “It is simply incredible that Hobbycraft’s colleagues and customers have reached this £3 million milestone. This money is supporting families with seriously ill children right in the heart of their community, and so on behalf of children’s hospices and Together for Short Lives, we want to thank every single person who has donated in stores, bought one of our products, or made a difference through your creative fundraising. Every penny raised makes such a big difference to the lives of seriously ill children – you are all absolutely amazing. Thank you!”