SPAR Hungary, in partnership with the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service, has run the ‘Joy to Give!’ campaign for the third year in a row. The campaign is targeted at supporting children in need by donating school supplies at the start of the new school year. In total, over 62,000 stationery items and donation cards at a value of over €5,700 have been donated this year. SPAR Hungary complemented this support with an additional donation of about €2,600.

Donating school supplies

From 23 to 26 August 2022, INTERSPAR Hypermarket customers could purchase school supplies instore, including notebooks, stationery items, pencil cases, school bags, and other necessary goods. Volunteers of the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service collected the 62,000 items.

Additionally, shoppers could support the campaign by purchasing donation cards between 20 July and 1 September. Donation cards were available on SPAR’s online platform and at participating INTERSPAR Hypermarkets. Customers had the option to choose donation cards worth €1.30 up to €26. These donations were used to purchase essential school supplies. A team from the charity service delivered the supplies to children in need before the start of the school year.

Márk Maczelka, Head of Communications at SPAR Hungary, said, “We owe our customers a big thank you, who supported the initiative wholeheartedly again this year. SPAR Hungary is dedicated to strengthening equal opportunities and social responsibility. Therefore, we are contributing an extra €2,600 to the donations, so we can help even more children in need. Seeing the success of the campaign, we are committed to continuing the initiative in the future.”

Longstanding charity partner

The Hungarian Maltese Charity Service has been SPAR Hungary’s strategic partner for almost thirty years. The ‘Joy to Give!’ school supply collection campaign is one of the most successful of their many joint initiatives. This donation campaign is based on the successful food donation campaign run by SPAR Hungary in the lead-up to Christmas last year.

SPAR Hungary also donates 1 Hungarian Forint (HUF) to the charity for each biodegradable shopping bag purchased in SPAR stores. So far, the organisation has donated over €14,900 this year.

The results of SPAR Hungary’s school supplies donation campaign and the campaign where 1 HUF is donated for every biodegradable shopping bag purchased instore can be found here.

Source: SPAR Hungary

Read more about SPAR Hungary.

About SPAR Hungary

The first SPAR Supermarket opened in Hungary in 1992, following the acquisition by ASPIAG (Austria SPAR International AG) of a majority stake in General Kereskedelmi Rt. SPAR Hungary is one of the country’s largest employers, with a network of company-owned and independently run stores operating nationwide.