Domino’s to Donate €5 to Barretstown for every #SliceofLife snap posted to Twitter or Facebook
For immediate release
August 2015
DOMINO'S AND BARRETSTOWN MARK €200k DONATION WITH EXCITING, INTERACTIVE INITIATIVE
- Domino’s to Donate €5 to Barretstown for every #SliceofLife snap posted to Twitter or Facebook -
Domino’s is looking for people to post pictures of themselves eating pizza in strange or unusual places on either Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #SliceofLife and has promised to donate €5 to Barretstown for every post recorded over the next two weeks.
Children’s author and Barretstown ambassador, Benji Bennett has given his backing to the initiative which marks 10 years of Domino’s charitable donations which has raised a massive €200,000 for Barretstown. The money has been used to allow larger numbers of seriously ill children and their families to visit Barretstown and benefit from the wonderful services it offers.
It costs €3,500 to bring a child to camp for 8 days allowing them to take part in Barretstown’s unique Therapeutic Recreation programmes, designed to help them recover from the emotional trauma of serious illness.
The children leave stronger, more independent and with a renewed sense of confidence. Speaking about the launch of the initiative Dee Ahearn CEO of Barretstown said the organization is “delighted to mark this very special 10 year anniversary with Domino’s. Their support and dedication to Barretstown has raised a very impressive €200,000, making it possible to serve even more children and families living with a serious illness.
“We cannot thank them enough. One of the highlights of the camp calendar is when Domino’s come to camp to host pizza making days, which, as you can imagine, is a very popular activity with our campers. Campers rave about their experience every time. Thank you to everyone taking part in #Sliceoflife, your support will help us reach our fundraising target of €4.8 million this year.”
Barretstown needs to raise €4.5 million a year to run their programmes, over 96% of which comes from voluntary contributions from generous individuals and companies. They receive a small grant from the HSE, which accounts for 3%. Barretstown offers free, medically endorsed, Therapeutic Recreation camps and programmes for children and their families living with a serious illness – supported behind the scenes by 24 hour on site medical care.
Over the last 10 years Domino’s has raised €200,000 through individual and national fundraising drives. In addition to this, the teams at Domino’s have run numerous pizza making days at the camp where kids can make, bake and eat their very own fresh pizzas.
“We’re very proud about the work we do with Barretstown as we recognise that what they do is beyond special,” said Simon Wallis, Sales and Marketing Director, Domino’s Pizza UK & Ireland. “Our franchisees and their teams work especially hard to raise funds for Barretstown. They also travel to the camp to host pizza making days with a mobile oven to allow the kids to make, bake and enjoy their very own pizzas. The kids have the opportunity to enjoy themselves in a relaxed, fun and safe environment with their peers. The work they do at Barretstown for the entire family is so important and we’re really happy to have been part of that for the last 10 years.”
This latest initiative is asking people to share their #SliceofLife pictures enjoying their pizza at home, work, indoors, outdoors, with family or friends. For every picture with the hashtag shared on Twitter and Facebook, Domino’s will donate €5 to Barretstown.*
Benji Bennett, author of the award-winning series of Adam’s Cloud books will share some of the benefits of the programmes offered by Barretstown for the entire family. Following the sudden death of his four-year-old son Adam, eight years ago this month, Benji set about keeping Adam’s memory alive through the series of books about magical moments all families can share with their children. A percentage of the sales of all his books go to charities including Barretstown, which support families with seriously ill children and those who have suffered bereavements of the most unimaginable kind. Benji lives in Dublin with his wife Jackie and their three children, Harry, Robbie and Molly.
-Ends-
Contact: For further information or to arrange an interview with Benji Bennett please contact Sonia Harris, Harris PR Ltd by phone 087 797 9703, email sonia@harrispr.ie or Twitter @SoniaHarrisPR. Imagery from today’s photocall is available from Maxwell Photography.
*See dominos.ie for terms and conditions.
Hashtag: #SliceofLife
Websites: Adamscloud.com
Barretstown.org
Dominos.ie
Facebook pages: /AdamsCloud /Barretstown /DominosIreland
Twitter pages: @AdamsCloud
@Barretstown
@Dominos_ROI
Notes to Editors:
Domino’s Pizza Group plc is the leading player in the fast-growing pizza market and holds the exclusive master franchise to own, operate and franchise Domino’s Pizza stores in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. The first UK store opened in Luton in 1985 and the first Irish store opened in 1991. In April 2011, the Group acquired a majority stake in the exclusive master franchise to own, operate and franchise Domino’s Pizza stores in Germany (now fully owned). In September 2012, the Group acquired the master franchise for Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. Founded in 1960, Domino’s is one of the world’s leading pizza brands. Through its primarily franchised system, it operates a global network of more than 11,000 stores in over 70 international markets. Domino’s has a singular focus – pizza made freshly to order with high quality ingredients. Customers in the UK can order online at www.dominos.co.uk, in the Republic of Ireland at www.dominos.ie, in Germany at www.dominos.de and in Switzerland at www.dominos.ch. In addition, mobile customers can order by downloading Domino’s free iPhone, iPad and Android Apps.