Upgrade Options smashes RBL fundraising goal

VAR more than doubles amount it pledged to raise for the Royal British Legion in the first year of its charity challenge

Enterprise VAR Upgrade Options is celebrating the first year of its four-year charity association with the Royal British Legion (RBL) by smashing its fundraising target.

The firm announced its partnership with the charity last year to commemorate the centenary of the breakout of World War One, with the aim of raising £3,000.

But it revealed that the amount raised has reached £6,602, through a combination of poppy sales, abseils, parachute jumps, mufti days, sweepstakes and charity runs.

Glenn Morrison, managing director of Upgrade Options, said: "It’s been a wonderful partnership, very uplifting for the team and our clients, full of genuine goodwill and a real and mutual commitment to deliver, which is why I am so pleased to announce that we will be supporting the RBL through to 2018.

“The RBL Poppy brand is iconic and I consider us very lucky to be able to use it in our marketing mix. The RBL are committed to making the poppy a 'year-round' brand. Last year was huge, with the anniversary of the start of WW1, but every year until November 2018 is going to be as big, especially with the UK government actively promoting key WW1 anniversaries such as the Gallipoli landings (April) as well as more recent events including VE 70-year (May) and VJ Day 70-year (Aug) commemorations," he added.

"The bottom line is that an already powerful brand is about to get even more powerful and I’m very happy that we’re going to be a part of that – we’re going to need all the help we can get to top last year's fundraising."