A Chester charity has been given a cash grant of £1000 thanks to support from social media users.
Starbucks’ RedCupCheer challenge initiative offered 200 small and local UK charities the chance to compete for grants of up to £1,000 and this year, Chester-based SPACE charity was chosen to be in the running for one.
Charity supporters sent almost 100k tweets in support of their favourite causes during November, meaning 200 charities got to win a Red Cup Grant from Starbucks. The charities who gained the most social media ‘noise’ through shared photos, videos and festive tweets, got £1,000 while runners up received £500.
Over the course of the three week challenge, #RedCupCheer ‘noise’ was measured across Twitter and on neighbourly.com – with more than 94,000 tweets and retweets being made in support of worthy causes across the country.
SPACE, which was co-founded by Chester mum Jemma Gregory whose daughter Isabelle has the life-limiting mitochondrial disease, aims to provide accessible play opportunities for children with additional needs and support their families.
In their first year, SPACE have run 18 stay and play sessions, attended by more than 80 children and have provided support to 65 families.
They achieved charitable status in the summer, and have also just started regular coffee mornings for parents and carers. Their ultimate goal is to eventually get their own ‘space’ they can use to run play activities from.
Nick Davies, founder of neighbourly said: “Red Cup Cheer is a fantastic way for Starbucks to connect with projects close to the hearts of customers and colleagues in their local communities.
“The overwhelming support and cheers for these causes right across the UK has been truly exciting. We’re thrilled to see Starbucks focusing their support where it’s needed most – raising awareness and providing a much needed boost for charities this Christmas.”
Simon Redfern, Communications Director for Europe added: “Congratulations to all charities that took part, we introduced #RedCupCheer to generate fun and bring people together, while also raising awareness about the great work that happens in our communities every day of the year.”
