Slimming World raises more than £1 million for cancer charities by recycling slimmers’ clothes!
The UK and Ireland’s leading weight-loss organisation Slimming World is celebrating its Consultants and members raising more than £1.2 million for Cancer Research UK and the Irish Cancer Society* via ‘The Big Slimming World Clothes Throw’.
Back for the first time in three years, the previously annual fundraiser took place over a two-week period in May 2022 and saw Slimming World Consultants, who run the organisation’s 7,700 community groups across the UK and Ireland, and members donate clothes to the charities’ stores, including those they’ve successfully slimmed out of.
As well as taking part in the activity, five lucky members who found a golden donation bag recently headed to London to enjoy a money-can’t-buy prize as a thank you for helping to raise money for Slimming World’s charitable partners. Each of the winning members was treated to an overnight stay in the capital, a personal styling appointment with a top stylist and a shopping voucher to help them to replace the clothes they slimmed out of.
Slimming World’s Deputy Marketing Manager Clare Lee, who organises the national fundraising campaign, says: “It has been absolutely fantastic to be able to bring back The Big Slimming World Clothes Throw this year and we are so very proud of all of our Consultants and members who went out of their way to help support Cancer Research UK and the Irish Cancer Society.
“As well as the exceptional total we have raised, it has been great to hear feedback from our members and Consultants about how much they enjoyed taking part again. The community spirit and sense of fun within our groups is what sets them apart – people join to achieve their weight loss dreams, which they do, but they keep coming back week after week because of the friendships they make and the fun they have. Activities like the clothes throw are part of that and help people to feel great about how their achievements help others as well as themselves."
Eve Mitchell, Head of Partnerships Management at Cancer Research UK says: “Raising over £1.2million worth of clothes is a fantastic achievement and we thank everyone who cleared out their wardrobes and generously donated clothes. The money raised through The Big Slimming World Clothes Throw will help us continue our pioneering research to beat cancer.”
Clare continues: “We have been working in partnership with Cancer Research UK and the Irish Cancer Society for nine years now and cancer is a cause close to many of our colleagues’ and members’ hearts. Through our work with the charity, as well as fundraising, we hope to raise awareness that maintaining a healthy weight improves health, including the risk of developing some types of cancer.”
*£1,218,808.00 was raised in the UK for Cancer Research UK, and €81,000 for the Irish Cancer Society in the Republic of Ireland.
Slimming World was founded by Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE in Derbyshire in 1969 and has become the UK and Ireland’s leading weight loss organisation with more people choosing to attend a Slimming World group each week than any other weight loss programme. We support hundreds of thousands of people, both in our groups and online, to lose weight and to adopt new habits to stay slim for life.
Over the years our founding principles haven’t changed:
· Our unique programme is based on a powerfully motivating support system called IMAGE (Individual Motivation and Group Experience) Therapy. Underpinned by a deep understanding of the psychology of overweight people, and incorporating the most effective sustainable behaviour change techniques, IMAGE Therapy is designed to inspire and motivate slimmers to make positive changes and to develop new, healthier habits around food and activity.
· Food Optimising is our healthy eating plan, based on the liberating concept of Free Food. We encourage our members to fill up on those foods that are naturally lower in energy density (calories per gram) and also highly satisfying while limiting foods that are highest in fat and sugar and are less satisfying, so they lose weight without ever feeling hungry or deprived and without having to weigh, measure or count everything they eat.
· Our activity programme, Body Magic helps members to overcome any barriers around activity. Members choose when to start and they set the pace, finding activities they genuinely enjoy, until regular physical activity becomes an intrinsic part of their daily routine.
At the heart of everything we do lies our passion for treating every member with genuine care, empathy and respect.
We’re proud to work with the NHS, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), The Royal College of Midwives and others to help shape the future of weight management in the UK and Ireland.
For more information about Slimming World’s approach visit slimmingworld.co.uk or slimmingworld.ie
Follow Slimming World on Twitter at twitter.com/slimmingworld or become a Slimming World fan on Facebook at facebook.com/slimmingworld
For the Press Office visit our newsroom or email public.relations@slimmingworld.co.uk