Stars such as Britney Spears, Helen Mirren and Kylie Minogue are backing Alder Hey Hospital’s new ‘Alphabet Scarves’ campaign this winter, with singer Pixie Lott also set to release a Christmas single to increase awareness of their £30m fundraising efforts.
Local celebrities, such as Spice Girl Mel C and Liverpool FC manager Brendan Rodgers, have also modelled the initialled scarves which are part of Matalan’s Christmas charity initiative in support of the West Derby children’s hospital.
Jason Hargreaves, Managing Director at Matalan, said: “A partnership with Alder Hey Children’s Hospital was a perfect fit for us. We’re extremely excited to be working on such a special project together this Christmas that will help us to raise much needed funds for the hospital whilst offering our customers a perfect gift.”
Pixie Lott has recorded her version of the 1986 number one hit, ‘Caravan of Love’ made famous by the Housemartins, which was released at the weekend.’
Around 20p of every single sale goes straight to Alder Hey Children’s Charity and the track will also be featured on Matalan’s Christmas television advertisement, with Pixie wearing her own initialled scarf.
The singer, who is currently competing on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, said: “I am really honoured to be involved with, and supporting, Alder Hey’s Alphabet Scarves campaign. It’s a fantastic initiative.”
Alder Hey celebrates its centenary year this year and a new hospital is set to open in 2015.
The development will be Europe’s only children’s ‘hospital in a park’ and is set to attract major talent to the medical team to provide the best possible healing environment for children and their families.
Louise Barrett, Head of Corporate and Major Giving for Alder Hey Children’s Charity, said: “The Hargreaves family has been a long standing supporter of Alder Hey and we are incredibly excited about our partnership with Matalan and this campaign.”
The scarves are initialled with a collegiate style letter and are priced at £10 and £5 for children, with 100% of profits going straight to Alder Hey.
Lee Pinnington, Marketing Director at Matalan, said: “We made a decision this year to fully get behind the Alder Hey Children’s Charity and, as a result, we will not be taking the cost of promoting the Alphabet Scarves campaign out of the profits we donate, to make sure as much money as possible goes to the hospital.”