National Giving Week

GIVE IN-KIND AND HELP HUNDREDS OF CHARITIES SAYS IN KIND DIRECT

Help not one but hundreds of good causes by giving in-kind during Giving Week. That’s the message from In Kind Direct. The week, led by CAF (Charities Aid Foundation), runs from 17 – 23 October 2005 and aims to raise the profile of charitable giving across the UK.

Many household name companies including Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Early Learning Centre, Disney and Boots already regularly donate goods to In Kind Direct, which are distributed via a monthly catalogue to a network of hundreds of charities of every size and focus. Apart from helping the community and solving the problem of companies’ surplus, the charity also helps protect the environment by providing a professional alternative to landfill, often otherwise the fate of even the most useful and useable goods.

As the only organisation coordinating in-kind giving on a UK-wide scale, In Kind Direct each year distributes millions of pounds worth of new products which are surplus either because they’re samples, seconds, end-of-line and slow-moving stock, or because they have slight imperfections or faulty packaging. Since operations started in 1997, more than £47 million of goods have been received from over 500 companies.

Goods distributed range from tools and toiletries, office supplies and equipment, clothes and shoes, household products and appliances to companies’ corporate and promotional surplus. Most recently this involved five kgs of silver ‘Applause’ badges, left over when Abbey changed its corporate identity. In Kind Direct worked with silversmith Alex Bernard to produce a silver vase which was sold to raise funds at last week’s Goldsmiths’ Fair.

“Giving in-kind is as simple as a single call to In Kind Direct,” says In Kind Direct chief executive Robin Boles, “and it’s a sure way to help hundreds of charities.” For more information please call 020 7860 5930 or visit www.inkinddirect.org. ends here

NOTE TO EDITOR: Tax efficient giving. For details of how businesses can claim tax relief on in-kind donations visit www.hmrc.gov.uk/