Happy New Year to all of our wonderful supporters! Before we jump head-first into the excitement of a new decade, we wanted to share some wonderful news with you from last year. We are over the moon with the response we received in 2019 (only our second year!), and are delighted to announce that, together, we raised…
Thank you so much – by joining the Advent of Change movement you have helped change the world for the better, supporting 72 amazing charities and causes around the world.
Not only have we raised over double the amount from our first year, but 2019 saw us expand our product range, support more charities, receive unprecedented coverage and most importantly take another step forward in our mission of creating a fair, equal and sustainable world! Here’s a quick look back on the year…
Our growing product range
In our second year, we expanded our range of charitable products from one…to five, and grew our number of charities from 24 to 72!
Our new products included a children’s variation of our charity advent calendar, plus a first-of-its- kind Braille advent calendar, created in collaboration with the RNIB. We also created our first product for outside the ‘advent’ period: our 2020 World Changer Calendar. The kindest wall calendar in the world supports 12 charities with every purchase, and poses a monthly challenge related to each cause - giving that amazing feel-good factor all year round!
We retailed in stores across the UK
We proudly graced the shelves of 350 John Lewis and Waitrose stores nationwide – and completely sold out on online… you generous bunch!
Dan Cooper, Partner and Head Christmas Buyer at John Lewis, said: “In my role, I get to see some really interesting and exciting new products, but the Advent of Change advent calendar really stood out to me as an incredibly innovative way of giving back during the festive season.”
Read all about it!
You might have seen us in a publication or two (you couldn’t miss it!) In 2019 we received unprecedented press and media attention which we’re so grateful for including The Telegraph, Metro, Forbes, Good Housekeeping, The Guardian, This Times… this list goes on and we even graced the ‘small screen’ for the first time!
Our supporters (that you might just recognise…)
We also made some amazing new friends! Including a number of exciting endorsements from household names such as Sir Richard Branson, Joanna Lumley OBE, Greg James, and Lawrence Dallaglio OBE. Discover more of our lovely supporters here
We piloted an innovative primary-school programme
In 2019, we developed a set of resources for schools covering topics such as ‘what are charities’, ‘why is kindness important’ and ‘why should we protect our environment’, each module contained learning objectives, topics for discussion, classroom activities and a take-home challenge.
The programme piloted in 25 schools, with one teacher commenting: “This really helped my class understand the impact of kind actions upon others and the role of charities in our society. If I forgot to open a door on any of the days, I was soon reminded as the prospect of finding one of Santa’s reindeer was overwhelmingly exciting!”
And finally…
We touched the hearts of millions! Our movement began with one simple idea: to give the gift of giving itself. And that small idea has already taken on a life of its own, and we’re so grateful for the amazing support we have received. Every single purchase has given 24 incredible gifts, true to the real festive spirit of goodwill.
How We did it…
A huge thank you to everyone who has joined the Advent of Change movement and, of course, the wonderful charities we support, who will be using the funds raised to make such a big difference to the lives of so many.
We’d also like to say a huge thank you to our corporate partners, who have helped make Advent of Change a success for a second year and ensure we’re able to give large amounts to charity! The wonderful people at EQ Investors covered our entire operational costs, and even threw a launch bash for us at their amazing offices (overlooking the shard no less!) to help spread the word about our 2019 range – we couldn’t have wished for a better key supporter!
We also owe a big thank you to Denfield Advertising and Marketing and Emmerson Press for donating their amazing services – helping us design and create the products as well as reaching as many people with our message as possible… take a bow guys!
Looking to 2020
According to experts, 2020 is set to be a huge year, with some pretty crazy predictions (robotic moon bases, self-driving cars to name but a couple of futuristic foresights). One thing is clear: 2020 will have some exciting things in store – and at Team AoC we might just have a few things up our sleeve… watch this space, and please give us a follow on social media or join our newsletter if you haven’t already and be the first to know the big news as it happens!
