Basingstoke ObserverARK Cancer Charity has always been able to bank on great support from the team at Centerprise International, and now they have taken their backing for the good cause to a new level.
Staff at Centerprise International, based on the Hampshire International Business Park, in Chineham, are long-standing supporters of Ark’s mission to raise £5million to fund supportive care and services in a new cancer treatment centre in the Basingstoke area.
Rafi Razzak, chairman of Centerprise International, said: “We are proud and delighted to back Ark’s campaign to help and support cancer patients and their loved ones.
Hosting a recycling bank is a free, simple and effective way to support Ark and raise further funds. Every bag of recycled clothes, textiles or shoes that our staff deposit in the bank adds up to more money for Ark.
As 99 per cent of the items put in the banks are recycled, this is a win-win for the charity, the environment, and Centerprise International’s mission as a company that makes a positive difference to the local communities where we are based.”
The recycling banks are installed and managed by Bag It Up (BIU) Group. Ark has nearly 50 recycling banks in and around the Basingstoke area, and they have delivered a fundraising lifeline to the charity during the COVID-19 pandemic as supporters have ramped up their recycling at a time when public-facing events have declined.
It was in 2016 that Ark became a charity partner of BIU Group – one of the UK’s leading clothing and textile recycling companies. The partnership means Ark is among BIU’s charity partners to benefit from a percentage of the proceeds when residents, businesses and community groups recycle their unwanted clothing, textiles and shoes in Ark-branded BIU recycling banks in Hampshire.
In 2020 and 2021, items recycled in the local banks resulted in a total of nearly £110,000 being raised for Ark.
Merv Rees, Ark Cancer Charity trustee and renowned HHFT liver cancer surgeon, added: “Thank you so much to Rafi and all at Centerprise International for this wonderful show of support. I hope that other Ark Corporate Partners past, present and future will follow their lead and host a recycling bank. It is a small way to make a big difference.”
Any company that wishes to host an Ark recycling bank should contact Mark Jones, head of charity at HHFT, on [email protected] or call 07885 378582.
You can find your nearest Ark-branded recycling bank by checking out the location map at https://biugroup.co.uk/banklocator/
