In Canada, many Associates from our home office and regional teams supported The Shoe Box Project in 2018. Our Associates donated and wrapped shoe boxes in colorful holiday paper and filled them with product and gift cards donated by TJX. The project collects and distributes the gift-filled shoeboxes to women impacted by homelessness in communities across Canada. Each box is filled with product designed to enhance self-esteem and reduce the feelings of isolation for women in need.
Winners, Marshalls, and HomeSense are also official sponsors of a number of Pride festivals across the country and have supported the LGBTQ community for many years. Each year, Associates join in the festivities by participating in community Pride parades. In 2018, our Canadian brands sponsored seven Pride festivals in major Canadian cities, and proudly saw nearly 600 Associates walking in support of the LGBTQ community.
Across Europe, our Associates are amazing supporters of our charitable partners, fundraising millions of dollars to support thousands of vulnerable children and young people living in our local communities. During our Comic Relief Red Nose Day campaign, Associates in the U.K. organized a dancing competition and took part in mountain hikes, bake sales, mud runs, and much more, raising a record breaking amount of money.
For our Give up Clothes for Good campaign in the U.K. and Ireland, our Associates donate clothes, accessories, and homewares to support Cancer Research U.K. and Enable Ireland, a charity that supports children and young people with disabilities. In 2018 alone, our Associates and customers donated nearly 300,000 bags of goods to these charities. Thanks to those donations and other fundraising activities, we were able to make just over $7 million worth of contributions to the two charities. Associates in Ireland also organized supermarket bag packs, street performances, and fun days to raise additional funds for Enable Ireland.
In Germany, more than 100 Associates entered Dusseldorf’s Metro Marathon and sold healthy lunches at the Dusseldorf regional office to raise money for our partner, Children for a Better World. Our Polish Associates organized charity fun days, picnics, canoeing, sports events, and an auction for our charity partner Stowarzyszenie WIOSNA’s Academy of the Future, a national children's charity. They also took part in the President’s chair initiative in which children supported by the charity are invited to visit TJX to learn more about careers within the business. Associates in the Netherlands held fundraising events for their local charities – events included face-painting, a “guess the amount of tags in the bucket” game, flea markets, and fancy dress day.
We are very proud to have Associates around the world who volunteer their time and who are committed to doing good in their communities.