We kicked off 2019 with the ultimate fresh start – innovative charity Deki was our Partner of the Month and showed us how their small-scale loans in developing countries can truly break the cycle of poverty; transforming families lives and inspiring the wider community.
We also welcomed some fantastic new charities to our Official Partner list at the start of the year including Parkinson’s UK, The Lighthouse Project and Multiple Sclerosis Trust.
February was National Heart Awareness Month, which not only let us indulge in some Valentine’s Day puns, but more importantly gave us the opportunity to highlight the British Heart Foundation. Over the last 50 years this charity’s work has helped to halve the annual deaths from heart and circulatory diseases in the UK, but it still needs £100 million every year to fund research projects to ultimately win the fight against cardiovascular disease. Your car donations are helping.
In March the Charity Car team took part in the iconic Marie Curie Great Daffodil Appeal. It’s humbling to hear people’s stories as they make their donation – something we don’t usually get to experience with car donations. An average recycled car can fund six hours of Marie Curie nursing care for someone with a terminal illness so every set of old wheels counts.
Over Spring we welcomed numerous new partners… Polbeth Community HUB and Whoopsadaisy are small charities having a big impact in their local communities. PHASE Worldwide, Breast Cancer Support and Kids Club Kampala joined our International Aid category. Crohn’s & Colitis UK joined Health, while Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity was added to our Rescue category. We also had two very different but worthy causes join Welfare & Community; The Akshaya Patra Foundation tackling the issues of hunger, malnutrition and education in India and the UK, and Battle of Britain Memorial Trust caring for the National Memorial to the Few at Capel-le-Ferne.
In May we looked after one of the most exciting, high-profile car donations we’ve ever handled – from the viral sensation the Songaminute Man! Wanting to find some enjoyment and relief for his 80 year old father with Alzheimer’s, Simon had been taking Teddy Mac out in the car to sing his favourite songs and posted the video’s online. They were so popular Simon was invited to speak on national TV, Teddy won a record deal and the father and son duo received a Pride of Britain Award and JustGiving’s ‘Creative Fundraiser of the Year’. When the car used for those trips came to the end of its days Simon chose us to recycle it and donate the proceeds to Alzheimer’s Research UK – truly living up to his award title! Simon used his platform to let their thousands of fans know about car donations to fight dementia and we were thrilled to be involved in their journey.
As we headed into Summer we were able to mark International Children’s Day with Partner Of The Month Rainbow Trust – supporting those families in the greatest need – struggling day-to-day, while facing the very real possibility that their child may die. It’s a situation most parents can’t even bring themselves to think about, but old car donations can fund the vital support The Rainbow Trust provides.
In June we focussed on the national campaign Clean Air Day and by no coincidence this charity was our Partner of the Month! While it’s far from a highlight that the world is in a state of Climate Emergency, knowing that you are supporting initiatives like this – helping people recycle their cars responsibly and enabling them to donate the proceeds directly to a cause that is driving improvements in air quality – is undoubtedly a positive.
So, halfway through the year and plenty to show for it, but it was July when we were able to announce the cherry on our celebratory cake! We had the news that we’d passed on over half a million pounds worth of donations from your old cars! Just so you can Oooooo through the zeros with us, that’s £500,000 to worthy causes!
Just as we were celebrating this huge milestone, the significance of single donations was highlighted with the most heart-warming story… An auctioned car had generated £1344 for a small charity – TJ Danes Rescue. We knew it would be well received but we didn’t realise quite how vital it would be. They were struggling to find the funds to treat a rescued Great Dane and were faced with the reality they’d have to watch her suffer through her last days. The car donation arrived just in time to pay Juno’s medical bills and not only did she recover fully, but the charity found her a furever home and a stable future to enjoy.
July saw more incredible auction news for Charity Car with the biggest ever single donation! £6444 was generated from one of you generous lot and given to Alzheimer’s Research UK. Obviously the charity was thrilled and told us that donation alone could fund over 300 hours of vital research!
In August we were delighted to highlight the incredible work being done by Pump Aid as they were our Partner of the Month. Other big news for the scheme came as we celebrated having over 100 Official Charity Car Partners for people to choose as recipients for their old car donations!
Autumn began and September was full of significant dates starting with the 5th being the International Day of Charity, followed by World Car Free Day and Recycle Week! Loads to talk about, much to celebrate (you know we love to blow our own trumpet when it comes to responsible car recycling!) and to top it all off we had The Book Bus as our Partner of the Month, so we could justify disappearing off for some relaxing reading when the excitement all got too much!
October’s Partner of the Month was a first for Charity Car with five charities involved! We had welcomed homelessness charity Emmaus UK to the scheme earlier in the year and several of the charity’s regional organisations followed suit – so we highlighted all of them in October! Hopefully we gave you all an insight into their work, giving people more than just a bed for a night – a reason to get out of it in the morning!
In November we were excited to share information on cultural education charity Shakespeare Schools Foundation – a unique charity that gives children the confidence to succeed and truly change their path in life.
And so we’ve reached December! You’ll have seen we’re working with Save The Children and we all fashioned some pretty festive attire for their Christmas Jumper Day on the 13th! We don’t need an excuse, but this is a charity that needs and deserves every penny raised to fight for children’s rights every single day across the globe.
On New Year’s Eve we’ll be raising a toast to the amazing year we’ve had at Charity Car and all the incredible things your old car donations have helped wonderful causes to achieve. We hope you’ve had just as much to celebrate. Here’s to 2020!
