Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 August marked MINI’s first-ever Big Love Weekend, bringing together over 115 MINI retail centres from across the UK to do more for their local communities and our planet.
Across the weekend, each retail centre rolled up their sleeves to spread Big Love in their local communities leading a diverse range of beneficial initiatives, from beach cleans and litter picks, to foodbanks and fun runs – all with the intention of driving positive change one MINI step at a time.
Equipped with their very own MINI fire engine, Barons Bedford MINI raised over £2,000 for The Fire Fighters charity at their open day, the first in a series of events across the area to raise vital funds.
Matthew Wood, Brand Manager, Barons Bedford MINI said, “Big Love has been a brilliant chance to give back to our local community, and what better way than with our local Fire Station who’ve been working harder than ever to keep us safe with the recent heatwave! Being able to offer our help has been refreshing, raising money for something that is important to so many people, and those that we all look up to as local heroes.”
Clearing away 21 bags of litter, Littlehampton Beach is cleaner thanks to Chandlers Worthing MINI, who partnered with local scout groups to organise 21 volunteers to clean over two kilometres of beach.
Andrew Harding, Head of Business, Chandlers Worthing MINI said, “Being a MINI Retailer on the South Coast, it seemed only fitting that we should include our glorious beaches in our #bigloveweekend! We love to keep things local, so we teamed up with our local beach café who provided our beach clean-up team with refreshments, and local scout groups to bolster our volunteer numbers; a refreshing way for us to spend a Saturday.”
Chandlers Hailsham MINI supported Hailsham and Eastbourne Foodbanks as they encouraged their local community to bring donations to their partnership launch day, resulting in an overwhelming number of items to be donated across two local foodbanks.
Steve Packer, Brand Manager, Chandlers Hailsham MINI reflected “What a great way for MINI to support those in need by giving help in our local areas – a change of message, no sales pitch, just showing that we care… Big Love is that selflessness, that will to do something more, that squishy feeling when you’ve given away your last chocolate.”
Over 115 MINI retail centers took part in the Big Love Weekend, with retailers getting involved in a wide range of activities including river clean ups, care home garden tidies, dog pamper parties in aid of The Dogs Trust and afternoon tea for local carers. Donation drives were also held across the country, raising money for local charities including West Cumbria Foodbank, Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter and Safe Families for Children.
Reflecting on the weekend Federico Izzo, Director, MINI UK said, “MINI is built on Big Love, it’s an integral part of all that we do. I am delighted by our retailers’ efforts over The Big Love Weekend, immersing themselves in a broad range of causes and taking positive actions in their local communities that will make a meaningful difference. But this is just the start, with MINI retailers pledging to continue their fundraising and support their local area in ways that matter to them”
To find out more about MINI’s Big Love mission, please click here.
Ends
The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises 31 production and assembly facilities in 15 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2021, the BMW Group sold over 2.5 million passenger vehicles and more than 194,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2021 was € 16.1 billion on revenues amounting to € 111.2 billion. As of 31 December 2021, the BMW Group had a workforce of 118,909 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company set the course for the future at an early stage and consistently makes sustainability and efficient resource management central to its strategic direction, from the supply chain through production to the end of the use phase of all products.
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