Princesshay and WESC raise more than £30,000

The partnership between Princesshay and Exeter-based charity WESC Foundation has raised in excess of £30,000 in just 12 months.

WESC Foundation, located on Topsham Road, provides specialist care, education and therapy to children and young people with visual impairment and complex needs. More than 100 children and young people attend WESC daily, weekly or all year round from all over the UK.
The partnership with Princesshay began in January 2013. Since then, WESC Foundation has been actively fundraising and raising the awareness as well as building strong relationships with the retailers and restaurants of Princesshay.

As well as the planned calendar of events, over the year, WESC Foundation has benefitted from the support of many retailers. Team members from Nandos and Costa Coffee regularly volunteered their time throughout the partnership year. Next, All Saints, Superdry, Cath Kidston, Hotel Chocolat and Fat Face were just a few of the retailers that have shown support by having either collection tins on their counters or collection bins for items to be donated to the WESC Foundation charity shops. Debenhams donated unused mannequins, EAST held a Fashion Day event with luxury treatments and restyles in exchange for donations, and Nike Running by Sweatshop encouraged running members to run for WESC in the Dartmoor Vale Race.

Students from WESC were also treated to sensory treatments including manicures from The Cove and hair styling from Saks.

A car raffle in partnership with Mercedes-Benz of Exeter, raised an impressive £22,826. One lucky winner from Lympstone discovered on Christmas Eve that he was the proud owner of Mercedes-Benz A-Class.

Other fundraising activities included the annual Dancing in the Streets weekend,  donations from Go Kart Party  and a sponsored abseil raising thousands of pounds. Operation Christmas with Radio Exe saw hundreds of gifts donated by the shoppers of Princesshay which were presented to the learners of WESC.

Maggie Garrett, WESC Foundation Fundraiser, said: “2013 has been a fantastic year thanks to the Princesshay team and of course the retailers and restaurants.”

“The partnership with Princesshay has helped raise an incredible amount of money for our charity through the events and activities we have staged together. It was great to have such a central presence in Princesshay, helping us raise our profile locally, we were able to talk to shoppers about WESC Foundation and the work we do. Every penny really does count and makes a real difference to the children and young people at WESC supporting them to reach their full potential.”

Wayne Pearce, Princesshay Centre Director said, “It’s been a privilege to support such a worthy and proactive local charity and we’re thrilled that the partnership has resulted in raising a substantial sum.
We’re always keen to work with local groups and charities to raise awareness of the work they do in Exeter and the surrounding area.”