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The Carphone Warehouse Auction 2005

THE CARPHONE WAREHOUSE RAISES £80,000 IN AUCTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE’S CHARITY, GET CONNECTED

The Carphone Warehouse held an auction on February 9th in aid of young people’s charity Get Connected, a free UK-wide telephone and email helpline for young people, and raised £80,000.

Hosted by comedian Paul Ross, the auction took place at BAFTA in Piccadilly, and was attended by over 150 VIP guests and associates of The Carphone Warehouse.

Items for the auction were generously donated by several businesses, including Kiss FM, Orange, Siemens, Virgin Mobile and Halifax. The lots included:

• An ice skating lesson with Jayne Torvill
• A guitar signed by Brian May and a backstage tour of the West End musical 'We Will Rock You'
• A pair of ballet shoes signed by Darcy Bussell
• The chance to host a dinner party for five friends cooked in your own home by a chef from a top academy of food and wine
• The Carphone Warehouse’s Group Chief Executive, Charles Dunstone, also personally donated a VIP day for twenty guests aboard his yacht

The Carphone Warehouse has had a relationship with Get Connected for 5 years, and in 2003 received The Corporate Charity Partnership of the Year award for their unique relationship. The Carphone Warehouse provides Get Connected with accommodation, phone lines and IT support, and offers volunteer Helpline Workers the opportunity to earn holiday or take matched company hours for giving up their time.

Get Connected enables 15,000 young people each year to access help in times of crisis or distress by connecting them to one of over 13,000 services across the UK, including telephone counselling, face-to-face advice, practical help and local drop in centres.

“We are extremely proud of the partnership that we have built up with Get Connected over the years, and of the support that we have been able to offer to such an important cause,” said Charles Dunstone, Carphone Warehouse Group Chief Executive. “Thanks go to all our industry partners and suppliers for their generous lot donations and bids.”

Director of Get Connected, Emma Insley, said “We were hoping to raise between £10,000 and £15,000 at the auction, so to more than quadruple that target is amazing.  I’m delighted that the success of this event means we can increase the capacity of the helpline; we can recruit and train many more volunteer helpline workers, and reach more vulnerable young people when they most need help.”

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For further information and photographs, please contact Emma Insley at Get Connected:020 7009 2500

Notes to editors:

1. Get Connected and The Carphone Warehouse’s unique relationship was awarded Corporate Partnership of the Year at the UK Charity Awards 2003 on 3rd September.  
2. The vision of Get Connected is that every young person in the UK can find the help they need to support their physical and emotional well being.
3. Get Connected is a UK wide telephone and email helpline that finds young people the best help whatever the problem. Over 1,300 young people contact Get Connected every month about a range of issues including emotional problems, physical and mental health, sexuality, abuse and running away.
4. For more information about Get Connected please visit www.getconnected.org.uk
5. Available for interview: Dulcie Ireland, External Affairs Manager, Get Connected,