Payday loan provider The Money Shop, a patron of the Derbyshire
and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, is hoping to raise
£250,000 over the next 12 months for the Help for Heroes
charity.
Collection tins, wristbands, and publicity material will be
placed in all the company's 418 stores for customers to make
donations. Meanwhile, staff are being urged to come up with ideas
for further fund-raising.
Help for Heroes was chosen by staff at the Nottingham-based
short-term credit provider in a company-wide vote earlier this
year.
Help for Heroes has raised more than £100m since its
launch in October 2007. All funds raised to date have been
allocated or spent on practical support of those wounded, sick or
injured in the line of duty since 9/11.
The Money Shop, part of Dollar Financial UK, joins the likes of
Tesco, Vauxhall and Deloitte as corporate supporters along with a
host of stars including Robbie Williams, Simon Cowell, Pixie Lott
and David Beckham.
Dollar Financial UK's corporate affairs director Caroline Walton
said: "Support from customers and staff at The Money Shop will make
a considerable difference to the lives of wounded service personnel
who have made considerable sacrifices on behalf of us all.
"Our growing network of stores is an ideal outlet for anyone
wanting to get behind Help for Heroes. It will be interesting to
see the fund-raising ideas that come from staff and they can be
sure they will get all the support they need from group head
office."
Each store will get wristbands to sell (£2 for adults,
£1 for children), collection tins, display material and
information leaflets and magazines.
Projects funded by Help for Heroes include an £8m
rehabilitation complex at Headley Court, Surrey, a new £3.5m
treatment centre for combat stress, adaptive adventure training
through the Battle Back programme and the creation of a £6m
Quick Reaction Fund to support individuals in need.
Help for Heroes is also working in partnership with the Ministry
of Defence and the Royal British Legion, to deliver the Defence
Recovery Capability - a comprehensive pathway to help wounded,
injured and sick troops. The charity is committing £90m, part
of which includes the creation of five regional personnel recovery
centres, in Colchester, Catterick, Tidworth, Plymouth and Edinburgh
to provide on-going training and support for the wounded after
Headley Court.
Help for Heroes co-founder Bryn Parry said: "We accept that men
and women injured in war may, eventually, have to leave their job
of choice but, if that has to happen, those individuals only do so
when they are ready, have the very best opportunities and the
long-term care they need. They deserve nothing less."
As well as The Money Shop, Dollar Financial UK operates online
lending services through its Month End Money and paydayuk.co.uk
brands; business loans, through Merchant Cash Express; jewellery
and pawnbroking through its specialists at Suttons and Robertsons
in London, Duncanson and Edwards in Edinburgh and Robert Biggar in
Glasgow. It employs more than 2,100 staff.
Dollar Financial UK is a leading member of the Consumer Finance
Association, which operates to maintain high standards of
responsible lending across the short-term credit industry, and is
licensed and regulated by the Office of Fair Trading.
The business is part of the US-based DFC Global Corp, which has
operations in the USA, the UK, Canada, the Republic of Ireland,
Sweden, Finland and Poland.