The Eastbourne Arndale Centre with the support of Cobb PR, has won national recognition for its community and charitable work by being shortlisted in the prestigious national Purple Apple Awards this month.
Its annual Win A Car event was shortlisted in the Community Relations category for the awards organised by the British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC). The category was for a single or ongoing event that benefited the community, not just the centre.
The annual Christmas event, held in the Centre, gives customers the chance to win a brand new car for just £1 with a different charity selling tickets every day. Every penny from the sale of tickets goes directly to charity and last year a record 48 charities benefited from the event that raised £22,652.
Since its launch in 2000, Win A Car has raised more than £230,000 for local charities with the planning starting several months ahead of the event.
The idea for Win A Car was born after a meeting in 2000 between Eastbourne Arndale Centre Manager Bill Plumridge, former editor of the Gazette and Herald Peter Lindsey and Tim Cobb, Managing Director of Cobb PR.
Bill and Janette Calverley, Centre Administrator, together with Cobb PR, decided to enter for this year’s awards and were delighted to be shortlisted.
Bill said: “It was great to see Win A Car receive national recognition up there amongst events organised by far bigger centres throughout the country. The entire ethos behind the event is to raise the profile of local charities and give the lucky winner a fantastic Christmas present. We’re already thinking about Win A Car 2013.”
Judges said the longevity of the event had really helped establish it in the minds of local people and that raising so much money for charity was an “excellent result”.
The BCSC Purple Apple Marketing Awards are the only awards which recognise and reward effective shopping and town centre marketing within the UK retail centre sector.