Toy Shop Customers Raise £2 million for Children’s Charities through Cashless Donations

Customers at The Entertainer toy shops across the UK have now raised over £2 million for children’s charities, simply by rounding up their purchases to the nearest pound with Pennies, the digital charity box.

A digital upgrade of the traditional collection box, Pennies gives customers the option to donate a few pence to charity when paying by card or mobile wallet.

The UK’s largest independent toy retailer, The Entertainer first added Pennies to the tills in its high street stores in June 2011, with the help of payments partner Worldpay.  Since then, shoppers have rounded up their purchases more than 4.5 million times, raising a remarkable £2 million for a number of causes, including 8 of the country’s leading children’s hospitals and hospices.

Customer generosity shows no signs of abating this Christmas either, despite greater pressures on consumer spending nationally.  

Said Gary Grant, Founder and Managing Director of The Entertainer:

“At an incredibly challenging time for retailers, and the British public, we’re utterly delighted that our customers are giving so generously when they shop at The Entertainer.  This December in our stores, someone is donating via Pennies every 13 seconds – this is truly incredible.  When so many children and families are struggling with unimaginable difficulties this Christmas, we’re deeply humbled by the kindness and goodwill shown by our customers.”

Charities benefiting from these donations include Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, Alder Hey Children’s Charity, Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital and Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.  The money raised to date has supported everything from the provision of life-saving medical equipment, to play therapy services to aid patient recovery and help families in need.

Prior to the introduction of Pennies in stores, The Entertainer raised around £2,000 a year in physical loose change through till-side collection boxes.  Most recently, customers raised £38,000 in a single week with Pennies.

Alison Hutchinson CBE, Chief Executive of Pennies added:

“Giving to charity via Pennies is all about feeling good – knowing it is always a choice, data-free, and only a few pennies – and The Entertainer’s customers should feel fantastic about what they’ve achieved.  Together they’ve given their digital small change a huge purpose and continue to make an extraordinary impact with their donations every week.  If that £2million was made up of real pennies, stacked up, they would stretch 205 miles high – 37 times the height of Mount Everest!”

Earlier this year, The Entertainer became the first retailer to enable Pennies donations for contactless payments too, almost doubling the amount raised for charity each week.