News 2005
Virgin Mobile goes `Big Hair Do’ crazy for Comic Relief
10/03/2005
- Virgin Mobile to be one of the biggest call centres for Comic Relief
- Actor Anthony Head is volunteering to take pledges
10.03.05: On 11th March, more than 200 staff at Virgin Mobile’s head office in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, will be sporting `Big Hair Do’s’ and red noses as they man the phone lines in aid of Comic Relief. The staff will give up their Friday night, when they would normally be painting the town red, in order to give a little bit of relief to the thousands of donors expected to ring and pledge money for the charity.
The event will see Anthony Head, the star of the famous Gold Blend Coffee adverts, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Prime Minister from hit comedy series Little Britain; a host of Bath Rugby players and customer centre volunteers and their families manning the phones and taking pledges. The volunteers hope to handle over 9000 calls and to raise as much money as possible for the cause, last time they took over £250,000 on the night.
In true Comic Relief style, all those taking part will be sporting a `Big Hair Do’ to answer the phones and take pledges. Senior managers will also be lending a hand to take calls, and getting into the spirit of things by having their hair gelled and coloured. The event will feature plenty of entertainment and fun to ensure everyone lets their hair down. Taking calls through the night is hungry work and helpers will be given a tuck bag to snack on during the night.
Comic Relief is just one in a long line of national and local charity events that Virgin Mobile supports. This year's charities, which are nominated by staff on an annual basis, include Children in Need, The BABE Appeal, Cancer Research, NSPCC and Wiltshire Air Ambulance.
Andrew Ralston, customer relationship director at Virgin Mobile, said: “Virgin Mobile has supported Comic Relief for two years with staff volunteering to take calls and we are overwhelmed by the public’s generous nature each year. These fundraising events are important to us and we enjoy getting into the spirit, especially in the name of a good cause like Comic Relief. As a company, we try to support the community all year round, but this event will be one of the most high-profile and it will be all hands on deck. Being true Virgins we will be wearing our red noses with pride, red is our colour!”
For further information please contact:
Virgin Mobile:
Press office on 0845 600 6272 or pressoffice@virginmobile.com
Joanne Baker – 07941 233300 or joanne.baker@virginmobile.com
About Virgin Mobile’s Comic Relief Activity
- The call centre will still be open for general customer enquiries during the Comic Relief period.
About Virgin Mobile:
Virgin Mobile Holdings (UK) plc, the UK's largest mobile virtual network operator, is majority owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and uses T-Mobile's network. Since its launch in November 1999, Virgin Mobile has attracted more than 5 million customers.
In the UK, Virgin Mobile phones are available direct on 0845 6000 600; on the web at www.virginmobile.com or on the High Street at approximately 5,000 outlets including Virgin Mobile Specialist Stores, Virgin Megastores, Tesco, Asda, John Lewis, Littlewoods, Argos, The Link, Dixons, Carphone Warehouse, Curry's, Comet, Phones 4 U, TOMO, Woolworths, Toys R Us and Ryman.
Virgin Mobile employs approximately 1,400 staff at three sites, Trowbridge, London and Daventry, and has an outsourced customer service centre operated by approximately 200 staff in Middlesbrough. It has been voted one of the top 50 places to work in Britain for two years running in an annual Financial Times survey.
Virgin Mobile is ranked in 72nd place in `The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For’ 2005 list.
