Toyota is pleased to announce it has beaten the £1,000,000 mark for the NSPCC.

Toyota Manufacturing UK has reach its target of raising £1 million for the NSPCC, money which has been put to good use in projects supporting children in the regions around its factories in Derbyshire and North Wales.

Toyota launched its partnership with the charity in 2006, raising money through company and employee fund-raising initiatives. Since 2008, donations have been made by the Toyota Manufacturing UK Charitable Trust, taking the total raised so far to £1,015,286.

Toyota’s contribution has helped the NSPCC Schools Service reach more than 15,000 primary school children in Derbyshire and, since 2013, more than 1,650 in Flintshire. 

The money has helped the service meet its target of reaching 1.7 million children across the UK with advice and information on understanding abuse, giving them confidence and courage to speak out and seek help should they ever need it.

TMUK celebrated the efforts of its workforce in reaching the charity milestone with a children’s tea party-themed event attended by schoolchildren and ChildLine volunteers local to its Burnaston plant in Derbyshire.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, was also among the guests. He said: “On behalf of the NSPCC, I’d like to thank the inspiring team at Toyota for their incredible support, which enables to make a real difference to the lives of local children. Like us, Toyota believes every childhood is worth fighting for. 

Their support will help us protect a generation of local children.”

Tony Walker, a trustee of the charitable trust, said: “The NSPCC does fantastic work to stop cruelty to children and making a real different to the lives of vulnerable young people in our local communities. 

It is with great pleasure that we are able to celebrate the result of nine years of fund-raising by TMUK members – the donation of more than £1 million to the NSPCC.”

Rolls Royce gives Paddington Bear a makeover, all in the name of charity.

One of Britain’s best-loved children’s characters, Paddington Bear, has been given a Rolls-Royce Bespoke makeover as part of the Paddington Trail: an initiative that seeks to raise vital funds for the NSPCC ahead of the much anticipated UK release of the Paddington film on November 28.

Giles Taylor, Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, created a design inspired by the marque’s founding forefather, famed racer and pioneer aviator the Hon. Charles Rolls. The Rolls-Royce Paddington cuts a sartorial dash in a brown leather duffel coat with cravat and hat ribbon in Rolls-Royce’s signature purple. Paddington’s outfit is complete with a pair of MK8 racing goggles that pay an elegant tribute to Rolls’ prowess as a gentleman racer.

50 statues of Paddington are set to be placed in landmarks across London from November 4, with visitors invited to observe them on a specially plotted Paddington Trail. Rolls-Royce’s Paddington will be placed in a most fitting location, opposite the marque’s landmark showroom in Mayfair’s Berkeley Square. He will stand on a plinth crafted to resemble the Pantheon grille that adorns every Rolls-Royce motor car and is finished in a specially created Bespoke mirror finish, echoing the marque’s emblematic Spirit of Ecstasy.

“It has given us great pleasure to support such a worthy cause by creating a Bespoke Paddington Bear,” said Giles Taylor, Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “Paddington is undoubtedly one of the nation’s best-loved characters; we were therefore honoured and delighted to be challenged with participating in the Paddington Trail. The Hon. Charles Rolls shared Paddington’s lust for adventure and exploration; he therefore proved the perfect inspiration for our interpretation of the world’s most famous bear.”

The statue was designed and crafted by the Bespoke craftspeople at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England – with associates from all departments dedicating time in aid of the NSPCC to ensure Paddington is in perfect order to meet his public. 

Visitors will be able to see the 50 Paddingtons, created by some of the UK’s leading designers, celebrities and artists from Tuesday 4 November 2014. An auction at Christies and a specially curated online sale will follow the release of the new Paddington movie on Friday 28 November. The film from STUDIOCANAL and Heyday Films is written and directed by Paul King (Bunny and the Bull, The Mighty Boosh), produced by David Heyman (Gravity, Harry Potter) and boasts an all-star cast including Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi, Jim Broadbent and Nicole Kidman with Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington. All proceeds are set to go to the NSPCC and ChildLine.