£450,000 raised from charity collection tins

A charity worker from Manchester has raised £450,000 by persuading local businesses in the North of England to place collection boxes in shops and cafes. Ian Johnson who works for Manchester-based charity Kidscan has travelled around the Midlands, North of England and Wales to ask for the purple collection boxes to be displayed in local shops. If this monumental amount was measured in 2ps, the weight would be equivalent to that of 90 black cabs!

Kidscan was established in 2002 and supports research into finding new and improved cancer treatments which are less damaging to the bodies of children and young adults. Kidscan report that sadly 1 in 500 children in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer before they are 14 years old. Tragically, 25% of these children won’t make it to their 30th birthday which makes the work that Kidscan do so important.

Money raised by these collection tins all goes towards Kidscan’s pioneering research into identifying and testing targeted treatment for childhood cancers which help reduce side effects that can occur with traditional treatments.

Mr Johnson says that “People may not think that our purple tins on counters across the country make much of a difference, but they’re a core part of our fundraising. These humble tins are helping to fund vital research into new treatments that will help children with cancer to survive and thrive as this staggering total shows.”

Ian’s success is largely down to his commitment to visiting every host of a collection tin at least three times a year, keeping them informed about Kidscan’s work and sending certificates of thanks for them and their customers.

If you own a small business that is public facing and you are interested in hosting a Kidscan purple tin please visit the Kidscan website or call Ian directly on 0161 295 3864.