Slimming World staff raise £4675 in two weeks for charity bag collection

Generous Alfreton-based Slimming World employees have waved goodbye to their weighty wardrobes, donating 187 bags filled with clothes, shoes and accessories to Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Cancer Research UK shops.

Staff, managers and directors at Slimming World’s head office donated 350 bags in support of the organisations national campaign the Big Slimming World Clothes Throw. With each bag filled worth around £25 to the charity when re-sold, the bags collected by Slimming World staff will raise an estimated £4675 and stock will fill local shops in Sutton in Ashfield, Bulwell, Arnold, Sherwood and Derby.

The Big Slimming World Clothes Throw runs across Slimming World’s national 16,000 weekly groups over a two-week period, inviting members to donate the clothes they’ve successfully slimmed out of.

This year’s campaign raised more than £3.3 million in support of Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work and all the clothes donated will be distributed to the charity’s 600 shops across the UK. The partnership between Slimming World and the charity aims to increase awareness of how maintaining a healthy weight can reduce the risk of developing some types of cancer.

Slimming World’s current Head Office Employee of the Year, Matt Veal, helped to collect the bags donated by staff. Matt, who lives in Heanor and works as Software Development Manager at Slimming World, said: “There’s always something fun and exciting to get involved with at Slimming World, and the Clothes Throw was a great excuse for us all to have a wardrobe clear-out and raise money for a vital cause. I couldn’t believe just how many bags we had managed to get by the end of the two-week collection. Our underground car park, where the bags were stored, pretty much turned purple!”

Slimming World’s Marketing Co-ordinator, Johanna Mather, organised the national fundraising drive and bag collection at Slimming World’s head office. She said: “Our fabulous head office employees have been overwhelmingly generous with their donations this year, and the local Cancer Research UK shops were delighted to receive so much valuable stock.

“I’m really proud to say that our partnership with Cancer Research UK, which is now in its fifth year, plays a vital part in spreading the message that keeping a healthy weight could reduce the risk of developing 13 different types of cancer. Raising awareness of this fact is a key aim of the partnership overall and we hope every t-shirt, dress and pair of jeans collected by our members and head office staff will help to make a difference. Having such a dedicated and engaged team of employees – who help with the development of this enormous national campaign, as well as donating clothes themselves – makes it all much easier to achieve.”

Zoe Dean, Corporate Partnerships Manager at Cancer Research UK said: “We’re so grateful to all of the Slimming World members and head office staff that have cleared out their wardrobes and generously donated to the Big Slimming World Clothes Throw. Every bag collected will help support our life-saving research.

“Our partnership with Slimming World aims to increase awareness of the link between obesity and cancer, and highlights the important fact that maintaining a healthy weight could reduce the risk of developing some types of cancer. We’re thrilled to see so many bags collected and thank everyone who has supported the Big Slimming World Clothes Throw.”