Schuh Trust donates £3 million to coronavirus fight

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Apr 20, 2020

The Schuh Trust has announced a donation of £3 million to Covid-19 relief efforts, significantly deepening its annual charitable giving. 

The trust, founded by the UK footwear retailer in 2011, said £2 million will be donated to the National Emergencies Trust, while the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Appeal will receive a further £1 million.

During the past nine years, the foundation has donated between £200,000 and £250,000 each year to a variety of deserving causes.

“We have decided that these unprecedented times call for unprecedented action. And so, the Trust will be selling off a significant chunk of assets to fund this donation, with the intention of providing critical support to people that urgently need it now, rather than at some point in the future,” said Mark Crutchley, managing director of Schuh.

The National Emergencies Trust was launched in 2019 to coordinate the response to major emergencies in the UK. Among others, it oversees hundreds of food banks and distribution services for medicines and essential goods. 

The second initiative receiving a donation is the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Appeal, which has been put together to support NHS staff and volunteers caring for coronavirus patients.

Schuh, which reopened its webstore earlier this month after completing a health and safety review of its fulfilment operations, is one of several fashion companies supporting the NHS during the pandemic.

Last week, Ralph Lauren announced a “generous donation” to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity to purchase Covid-19 testing equipment for cancer patients.