Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust partnered with Sainsbury’s during Cervical Screening Awareness Week 2013, 2014 and 2015, raising vital funds for the charity and promoting the importance of attending screening to both Sainsbury’s employees and customers. During this time Sainsbury’s raised £150k for Jo’s.

In the first year of partnership, we worked with Sainsbury’s and TV personality Chloe Madeley on a unique campaign to highlight the importance of screening while also raising money for the charity. Fifty pence from the sale of every pair of knickers was donated to the charity during the week-long campaign.

To encourage staff to get involved there was a competition, with the branch that saw the biggest uplift in sales rewarded with Sainsbury’s vouchers. Stores up and down the country decorated their lingerie departments with balloons and charity-branded signs. Local press was also invited to cover the event.

In seven days Sainsbury’s sold 91,992 units of knickers, raising a fantastic £46,000 and contributing to a 30% increase in visits to the Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust website.

To give it clout across the national media, TV personality Chloe Madeley volunteered to front the campaign and support us, modelling the supermarket giant’s limited edition underwear and giving interviews to raise awareness of cervical screening. Chloe, daughter of Richard and Judy, is passionate about cervical cancer prevention after undergoing treatment for pre-cancerous cells earlier in the year.

Elizabeth Yates, Buyer, Sainsbury’s lingerie says: ‘We are really proud to have worked alongside Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust for the past three years and have been overwhelmed by the response from our customers which has raised a staggering £150,000. Not only did we see an uplift in sales in 2013 and 2014 but so many of our store colleagues were really engaged, helping drive customer awareness of the charity and a very important issue during Cervical Screening Awareness Week. Many stores really went that extra mile to deliver some fantastic results in store – from handmade decorations to balloon displays and fancy dress, we could not be more proud!’

Read Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust CEO Robert Music’s blog about the partnership that appeared on Sainsbury’s website during the 2014 campaign.