By 
THREE Tyrone Spar retailers have this week spoken of their pride at helping to raise more than £1million for Marie Curie NI.
Hamilton’s SPAR stores in Castlederg, Newtownstewart and Omagh, plus Daly’s SPAR in Dungannon have all been named as top fundraisers from SPAR NI to Marie Curie NI.
The partnership has been active since 2017. To date, Spar retailers have raised £1,024,167 for the cancer charity through events such as coffee and cake mornings, tea parties, row-a-thons, cycle-a-thons, sponsored walks, fancy dress days, hamper giveaways and competitions. The team at Daly’s SPAR also planted a Marie Curie ‘Field of Hope’ outside their store.
Hamilton’s SPAR has held community barbecue fun days with bouncy castles and plenty for the shoppers to enjoy, all for a good cause, while McBride’s SPAR stores have held Christmas Jumper Days and completed a sponsored 5k walk, alongside plenty of in-store fun. The Mullaghmore store also took part in a 5-hour spin-a-thon in aid of the charity.
Peter McBride who runs 16 stores in Northern Ireland said that he was ‘incredibly proud’.
“Marie Curie services are hugely-needed,” he said. “We’re delighted to help where we can, whether that be supporting the charity through fuNdraising or being there for the community nurses in our areas.”
Brenda Daly, who runs Daly’s SPAR Eglish, said, “To be able to contribute to this charity knowing what impact it can have on people’s lives is very rewarding. It is great to see such a tremendous total being reached and this sort of money collectively can make a real difference.”
Meanwhile, Charlie Hamilton, who runs his stores with wife Ruth and his children, said, “Our team always go above and beyond, especially for Marie Curie. Our events are always community based because many of our shoppers have a connection with the charity.”
