UK Greetings has been living up to its altruistic tagline – ‘we make the world a more thoughtful & caring place, every single day’ – in more ways than one of late.
The Dewsbury-based greeting card publisher has not only been raising funds for the NHS through the sales of over 31,000 specially produced greeting cards, but the company has also repurposed a major car park at its Dewsbury headquarters to allow it to be used as a Covid-19 testing centre.
Following a spike in the number of people contracting the Coronavirus in Kirklees, and including in Dewsbury, where the publisher is based, when Kirklees Council approached UK Greetings, to see if it could support them in providing space for an NHS Walk-in Test Centre, the company had no hesitations in supporting this request, offering to provide the facility free of charge.
Commenting, James Conn, ceo of UK Greetings said: “The centres are critical to the community within which we operate. It’s a very busy and bustling town with businesses large and small and having densely populated residential areas. The walk-in centres make it easier for people without cars to get tested too, so we are really hoping that this news is spread far and wide, to make sure those with symptoms get tested.”
The facility is open to the general public from 8am to 8pm and will be onsite for a minimum of four weeks, potentially more.
In a local press statement James paid tribute to the medical team on the frontline of the pandemic. “The dedication, selflessness and determination of NHS staff who risk their lives to help others is one of the shining beacons of the coronavirus pandemic. Covid-19 has had a huge impact on the UK economy and it’s so very satisfying to slowly witness the community and local businesses in the Dewsbury area getting back into operation.”
In another show of support for the NHS, UKG (with support from Wrapid who printed it free of charge), has produced a special Thank You card design, to raise money for the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Urgent Appeal.
“All proceeds from the sale of this card from design, to printing, and finally sale to the retailer, will be donated to charity. It’s then the retailer’s choice if they also wish to donate their profits too,” explained Ceri Stirland, UKG’s customer and channel director.
Retailers responded very positively to stocking the card, with over 31,000 individual cards having been sold to date.
As Louise Makin, UKG’s internal communications manager told PG Buzz: “The Thank You card and our involvement with the Covid-19 testing centre, supports our commitment to our sustainability strategy and goals around people and community.”
