CUMBRIAN farmers have been going 'purple' to help raise cash for a children's charity, despite it being one of the most challenging years for fundraising

For the past six years, Carr’s Billington has been using the sale of their unique purple bale wrap as an opportunity to raise much needed funds for WellChild, a national charity that supports seriously ill children throughout the UK.

Kate Acutt, senior fundraiser at WellChild, thanked the staff and customers at Carr’s Billington for their ongoing support, particularly during this past year.“In April 2020, we were projecting a 60 percent loss in income, mainly from the postponement or cancellation of key fundraising events. We’ve worked hard to find new and innovative sources of funding to meet the sudden surge in demand from the families we support, who have been particularly vulnerable during this time,” she explains.

“WellChild relies almost entirely on voluntary donations to ensure the delivery of our services across the UK. The support from Carr’s Billington’s purple bale wrap sales is so important to us because not only does the campaign raise significant sums to support our vital work, but the quirky and fun campaign has raised fantastic awareness of the charity and how we support families. This includes providing giant emoji stickers to be used on the wrap so that the bales are really eye catching for passers-by.”

So far this year, 700 rolls of purple wrap has been sold across the country, and for every roll purchased, £5 is donated to WellChild.“Although we haven’t been able to host any of our in-person fundraising events, we were determined to still provide as much support to WellChild as possible,” explains Mark Cole, managing director at Carr’s Billington.