Local retailers supply sports kits to over 500 NI schools

Over 500 schools in Northern Ireland got their sports day boosted at the end of term, thanks to SPAR, EUROSPAR, ViVO and ViVOXTRA’s Schools Sports Day Campaign for 2022.

In total, 529 primary schools across the country were supplied with 577 kits from their local stores – an increase of 33 per cent on the number of schools benefitting from the scheme last year.

“We have around 500 SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO branded stores in NI, which provide support in many ways to their local primary schools throughout the year, so providing the Sports Day kits to schools is a fantastic way to round off the summer term and school year. Keeping active and enhancing the health of those in our local communities is a key priority for our stores as we continue to nurture the neighbourhoods we operate in,” Bronagh Luke, head of corporate marketing at Henderson Group which owns the brands in Northern Ireland, said.

“School Sports Days have also been so different in the past few years, so by bringing even more kits and supplies to even more schools has helped us bring back even more normality for pupils whose studies and clubs have been disrupted by the pandemic. Feedback showed that pupils had fantastic sports days with their classmates and families, and we are just delighted to have been able to make them extra special.”

Within their Sports Day kits, schools received banners and posters to make their event stand out, plus hundreds of medals for those all-important podium moments. Selected stores also provided water and healthy snacks, energising those egg and spoon and sack races!

Henderson’s School Sports Day initiative began over 10 years ago, and has supported thousands of schools, helping enhance their end of term fixtures in the past decade.

“This is a really valuable engagement tool for our retailers to form meaningful connections with those in their community. These partnerships are created to engage with young people and help our store areas thrive across Northern Ireland and we’re very proud to see them grow year upon year,” Luke said.