Domino’s Pizza franchisees in Northern Ireland have decided that charity donations made by their customers through Pennies, the electronic charity box will help a Northern Ireland charity. Customers now ordering a Domino’s Pizza online in Northern Ireland will be able to support Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice by rounding up their pizza purchase to the nearest pound. Previously Domino’s Pizza customers throughout the UK have been donating their pennies to long term partner Special Olympics GB.
Customers who order and pay for their pizza online have the choice to round up their bill to the nearest pound. Every one of the extra pennies given goes to charity and now most will benefit the hospice. Of the money raised, 75% is given Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice. The remaining 25% is divided equally between ten people related charities operating in the UK*. Domino’s Pizza customers, across the UK, have made over ¾ of a million donations since the scheme was introduced in November 2010. Special Olympics GB will continue to receive 75% of donations made in Great Britain.
The Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice cares for children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, and supports their families and those close to them. There are over 750 life-limited children and young people living in Northern Ireland. Each year Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice helps around 250 families and also supports 150 bereaved families.
In addition to Domino’s Pizza, Pennies is available online with Travelodge, and on the high street through The Entertainer’s toy shop chain, the Rugby Football Union’s retail stores and Zizzi’s restaurants. Since launching late last year, well over ÂŁ200,000 has been raised in total through Pennies, benefiting more than 20 UK charities.  The majority of the individual donations have been 10p or less, demonstrating how pennies can add up.
Commenting on the evolution of Domino’s Pizza’s partnership with Pennies, Georgina Wald, Head of Corporate Communications for Domino’s Pizza, said: “Our customers have really taken to the idea of Pennies and the amounts raised since we launched in November has been incredible. The change in Northern Ireland is a great way to ensure that our customers there can contribute to a charity that has local relevance and I know the donations will make a real difference to the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice.”
Ellen Hillen, Corporate Fundraiser for Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice said: “We are delighted that Domino’s Pizza chose to support Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice through Pennies. In this current economic climate we depend on new and innovative ideas for income generation and this is a great way of encouraging customers to support their local community in a simple but effective way. We depend on the generosity and support of local people to help us raise over £2.5 million each year and this partnership with Pennies and Domino’s Pizza will make a real difference to the families who use our services.”
Alison Hutchinson, CEO of The Pennies Foundation, added: “We’re excited at the pace of Pennies development. It is fantastic to see Domino’s bring in our first Northern Ireland charity. We hope that Domino’s Pizza customers will continue to round-up to help the hospice to continue supporting young patients and their families. Card use is on the rise, last year, was the first year that more money was spent using debit cards than using notes and coins. The death of cash is not around the corner, but we want to harness the growing power of the card, and Pennies makes that possible.  It lets consumers make a real difference, through giving a little to charity by card in the same way that we’ve traditionally dropped coins into a collecting tin.”
