UK employees at Dufry-owned World Duty Free (WDF) have voted to partner with a leading children’s cancer charity.

WDF will support fundraising and help raise the profile of the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) over the coming three years.

Geoff Hall, HR Director for Dufry UK, says CCLG is a ‘perfect fit’ for Dufry’s charitable efforts, particularly given the cause is close to the hearts of many people.

Alongside helping CCLG to identify ways to treat childhood cancers, WDF is aligned with the charity’s approach to supporting the wellbeing of individuals and their families during and after treatment.

ACTIVITIES PLANNED IN Q1

“Our colleagues are very excited and proud to be supporting such a wonderful charity,” said Hall. “Many of our teams have been impacted first-hand by the devastating effects of cancer and we have several parents in our teams, whose children are currently undergoing treatment. It’s great to be supporting a charity that helps families during such difficult times, as well as raising awareness to support others.”

CCLG was nominated by Julie Grange, a customer service leader at Manchester Airport Terminal 1.

Her daughter Jessica, 12, is currently undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with Jessica’s treatment due to finish this month.

Gill Smitherman, CCLG’s Head of Fundraising, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to welcome World Duty Free as our new charity partner and are so grateful to everyone who voted for CCLG, and particularly Julie for nominating us. We’re looking forward to working closely with them and seeing what can be achieved. Their support will go a long way in helping us change the future for children with cancer.

“We’re looking at activities to support raising awareness about the charity in the first quarter of 2022,” added WDF’s Hall. “Staff are then planning an ‘Active in April’ fundraising campaign where we will encourage teams to get involved in physical activities to raise money. There’s already talk from some colleagues of skydives and marathons, as well as team challenges such as rounders and sports days between departments and locations.

“We’re extremely proud of our staff and the many charitable and fundraising initiatives they’ve undertaken over the years. We strongly believe that the most vulnerable in our communities need the continuous support of World Duty Free and companies like us and that’s something we’re totally committed to continue doing, supported by the great involvement and dedication of our employees.”

For more on CCLG, click here.