AFRICA Stagecoach and Chairman Sir Brian Souter’s personal charitable trust has backed Mary’s Meals’ ‘Feed Our Future’ campaign with a major donation. More children across Malawi and Zambia will have the chance of a brighter future thanks to a £70,000 donation by Stagecoach Group and a further £30,000 of support from the Souter Charitable Trust.
Stagecoach customers and employees pledged nearly £1,100 to Mary’s Meals through a special ‘Text to Donate’ code. Along with UK Government match funding and gift aid, the figure raised from the text donations was more than £2,200.
Buses on more than 150 Stagecoach routes across Scotland, North West England and Southern England have been promoting the campaign. Posters and stickers encouraged the public to help feed more hungry children with a nutritious meal in school.
Stagecoach and advertising partner, Exterion Media, also joined forces to provide a double-decker bus specially wrapped in the Mary’s Meals ‘Feed Our Future’ livery to publicise the appeal.
Sir Brian Souter, Stagecoach Group Chairman and Co-founder, said: “Providing a child with one meal every school day can make a huge difference. As well as improving their health, it can encourage them in their education and help lift them out of poverty later in life.
“Mary’s Meals is doing fantastic work around the world. We hope this £100,000 donation – as well as the fund-raising efforts of our customers and employees – will help give a brighter future to hundreds of young children.”
Mary’s Meals provides impoverished children with a daily meal in school, attracting children into education when they would otherwise rely on handouts or scavenge for food. In May last year, the charity announced that it had reached the milestone of feeding one million children.
The charity already has feeding programmes in 12 countries, across four continents. Through the ‘Feed Our Future’ campaign, it hopes to extend its initiative to feed 108,818 children in Malawi and Zambia. This will provide new feeding programmes for 34 schools in Zambia and 117 for schools in Malawi.
