Global youth fashion and toy retailer Claire’s has been busy adding some of its unique fun and sparkle to Tŷ Hafan Children’s Hospice.
Claire’s Field Vice President, UK and Republic of Ireland, Scott Cushion, was one of dozens of our supporters who plucked up the courage to take on our Tŷ Hafan Firewalk Challenge 2022 on October 23.
Scott and his fellow firewalkers braved the heat to walk barefoot across a five meter bed of wood embers, smouldering at a not-so-cool 800 degrees, no less, at the Cardiff City Stadium. Together they have raised more than £12,000 for us, with donations still coming in, helping us to keep on providing vital care and support for children with life-shortening conditions and their families in Wales.
Scott said: “I’m delighted that Claire’s can support such a fantastic charity. The fire walk was a great way to kick of our partnership and was heavily supported by our stores, field and corporate colleagues.”
Claire’s, formerly Claire’s Accessories, which has 2,300 outlets across the world, has also very kindly donated a cool £15,000 to Tŷ Hafan.
Plus the retail giant has also donated a quantity of last year’s stock of jewellery, accessories and cosmetics which is now available to buy at any of Tŷ Hafan’s 19 charity shops across South, Mid and West Wales.
Rachel Ritter, Head of Major Gifts and Partnerships for Tŷ Hafan, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be working with the lovely team at Claire’s and are super-grateful to them for their incredibly generous donation of £15,000 plus items from their 2021 range for our charity shops to sell.
“Plus we were blown away by the courage and generosity of Scott, and all our firewalkers, who more than proved they could stand the heat at our first ever firewalk fundraising event.
“It costs £5.2 million a year for Tŷ Hafan to be able to provide vital care and support for children with life-shortening conditions and their families in our hospice in Sully and in home and communities across Wales and with the cost of living crisis this figure is only going up and up.
“On top of this, demand for our services is also rising as the families we work with find themselves under more pressure than ever. And so many of our wonderful supporters, without whom we simply could not do what we do, are themselves facing spiraling bills, which is impacting on their ability to donate and fundraise for us as they have done previously.
“So for Scott and his colleagues at Claire’s to support us in these ways, and especially in these most challenging of times, is immense and we cannot thank them enough.”