- 2,600 calls each month to Aware Support Line Service since Covid -
- 10c from every hot drink sold at Maxol to go to Aware -
30 November 2022: Maxol today launched a festive pay it forward style initiative to encourage acts of kindness this Christmas while raising thousands of Euro for mental health charity, Aware. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Aware is receiving 2,600 calls on average each month to its free support line and urgently needs more funding.
ROSA Cup of Kindness
In line with past Christmas campaigns, Maxol will directly donate10c from every cup of its ROSA Coffee or other hot drink purchased during November and December to Aware. Last year, the Christmas campaign raised more than €65,000 and Maxol hopes to surpass that figure with its new Cup of Kindness Campaign.
The concept is simple: with Maxol's new Cup of Kindness campaign, customers can perform an act of kindness by purchasing a ROSA Coffee or other hot drink for someone else when they buy one for themselves.
Participating customers will be presented with a star when they purchase a hot drink for another person, on which they are invited to write a message of kindness. The star is then hung from a Cup of Kindness Christmas tree in the Maxol store.
The next customer can take that star to pay for their cup of ROSA Coffee or hot drink and if they wish, they too can purchase a Cup of Kindness for the next customer and hang a star on the tree. Maxol hopes that this will spark a cycle of kindness during the festive season that will help improve people's day and raise much-needed funding for Aware, with 10c from every single hot drink purchased going to the charity.
Aware – now supporting people from Ukraine
Drew Flood of Aware said: “Many of the calls to our free support line are now coming from people finding it a challenge to re-engage and re-emerge into society, following the Covid-19 Pandemic. Our teams are noticing that the transition to reintegrate into society is proving a real challenge for many. This is a new issue for society, certainly linked to the pandemic, and is contributing to the 2,600 calls on average that we are now receiving, every month.
“The ongoing support from corporate organisations like Maxol has enabled Aware to build on its regular services and we recently set up four weekly Ukraine Support Groups, which are providing a space for people who have fled following the invasion of their country in February. These are vital services and we are already seeing the benefits, but we need ongoing funding so we can continue to support those who need us.”
Small gestures, big impact
In its six years of sponsorship, more than €600,000 has been raised by Maxol for Aware and CEO of The Maxol Group, Brian Donaldson, said: “Being kind doesn’t have to mean grand gestures; it’s often the little things that can have the greatest impact. That is why Maxol has launched the Cup of Kindness Campaign and we hope that the funds raised for Aware and acts of kindness shown over the next few weeks will have a positive impact on the communities in which we operate.”
Aware is calling on the public to get behind Maxol’s Cup of Kindness campaign to allow it to continue its work to serve the Irish public with free support, education and information supports, regardless of the circumstances.
Keith Walsh, well-known broadcaster and mental health advocate joined Maxol and Aware to launch the Cup of Kindness campaign and said: “I love this initiative. A small act of kindness does many things, when we are kind to someone not only do they feel better, but we feel better too. There is a science to this - being kind boosts serotonin and dopamine and gives you feelings of satisfaction and well-being. Not only is it an act that shows someone that you care but it’s also an act of self-care. On top of that, raising money for Aware ensures that there will be a kind, caring voice at the end of a phone line when someone needs it most.”
Any unclaimed stars will be donated to a local cause chosen by the participating Maxol store, which can in turn be used in exchange for a ROSA coffee or other hot drink.
Ireland’s leading family-owned forecourt retailer, Maxol has been operating at the heart of communities for more than 100 years.