Flowing Ink News Room

Luton shoppers have raised £241.35 over the past three weeks by supporting Luton Has Heart – the competition run by The Herald & Post and The Mall Luton to support Keech Hospice Care .

The lucky winner of the £50 prize-draw was Paul Butterfield, whose message was picked at random last Monday from the 186 squares laid on the floor of the mall with messages of support for the Hospice. The first square was laid down by four year old Kaine Reeves, a young patient from the hospice, and since then it has grown and grown. This giant heart that developed on the floor of The Mall Luton was a great symbol of the generosity of local people.

Brian McFarland, General Manager of The Mall Luton, said “This has been a novel way to raise awareness and support for the Hospice and has created lots of interest. We are delighted with the response we received and are very grateful to our shoppers for supporting this worthwhile local charity.”

Ends.
Notes to Editors:
The Mall
The Mall is the leading owner and operator of community shopping centres in the UK. The Mall currently owns 12 shopping malls throughout the UK and sees around 4 million shopping visits a week.
The Mall, Luton houses over 120 retailers and sits in the heart of the town centre in Luton. The £20m redevelopment of The Mall Luton, due to end autumn 2010, is currently taking place to remodel the St. George’s Square end of the centre. The redevelopment will provide over 75,000 sq ft of high-quality new shopping, with cafes and restaurants opening onto the recently redeveloped square The Mall is committed to Luton as a major destination and is confident this development will provide the best possible shopping experience and has already secured TK Maxx as an anchor tenant in this new development.

www.themall.co.uk – Shopping as it should be…
This press release has been written and distributed by Flowing Ink. For more information or high resolution images contact Lisa Hogarth at lisa@flowingink.co.uk
www.flowingink.co.uk
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Left to right: Jordan Reeves, Natalie Reeves, Kaine Reeves, Jacqui Sheperd, Brian Mcfarland

The ‘Luton Has Heart’ competition was launched on Thursday 5 August at midday in Smith’s Square by four year old Kaine Reeves who is helped by the Keech Hospice. Kaine, who was accompanied by his mother, brother Jordan, and Keech Hospice Staff, laid the very first ‘heart’ message on the floor.

Kaine’s mother Natalie commented, “It was an honour to be asked to represent Keech for the opening, Keech has been a life line for our family. Because of Kaine’s needs we do not get much rest at night and Keech gives us the opportunity to catch up on much needed sleep. They have supported us emotionally during tough times. Kaine also benefits from their community team who offer play sessions and music sessions in our own home, which makes such a difference as Kaine has not been well enough to access school and aid his development.”

To join in the fun, support Keech Hospice Care and be in with a chance of winning £50. Simply cut out this red square, fill in your name, telephone number and a message for the hospice and take it down to the Ask Me Point in The Mall Luton at any time between today and Sunday 22 August 2010.

Your square will make up part of a giant heart laid out on the floor of the Mall, and your name will go into a lucky dip. The winning entry will be drawn at midday on Monday 23 August next to the heart in Smith’s Square (outside M&S). The winning entry will win a cool £50 Mall gift card - perfect for summer holiday shopping.

Jacqui Shepherd, Director of Fundraising from Keech Hospice Care, stated, “The team from the Mall are wonderful supporters of Keech, we can’t thank them enough for this fantastic idea and getting the local shoppers and the local paper involved in building the giant heart. This is a true partnership. This all started with NatWest giving us £50 notes to give to local business and in return asking them to generate much needed funds in an imaginative way. The team from the Mall have really stepped up to the challenge. I hope everyone will support them and our families by building the heart”.

There is no entry fee however we hope that everyone who participates will make a donation to Keech Hospice Care. The lucky winner will be announced in the Herald & Post on Thursday 26th August.

Ends.

Photo caption from left to right: Jordan Reeves, Natalie Reeves, Kaine Reeves, Jacqui Shepherd, Director of Fund-Raising at Keech Hospice Care and General Manager of The Mall Luton, Brian McFarland.

The Mall

The Mall is the leading owner and operator of community shopping centres in the UK. The Mall currently owns 18 shopping malls throughout the UK and sees around 4 million shopping visits a week.

The Mall, Luton houses over 120 retailers and sits in the heart of the town centre in Luton. The £20m redevelopment of The Mall Luton, due to end autumn 2010, is currently taking place to remodel the St. George’s Square end of the centre. The redevelopment will provide over 75,000 sq ft of high-quality new shopping, with cafes and restaurants opening onto the recently redeveloped square.
The Mall is committed to Luton as a major destination and is confident this development will provide the best possible shopping experience and has already secured TK Maxx as an anchor tenant in this new development.

www.themall.co.uk – Shopping as it should be…

This press release has been written and distributed by Flowing Ink. For more information or high resolution images contact Danielle Tarren at Danielle@flowingink.co.uk.

www.flowingink.co.uk

Ref: TMLMR047