The UK’s largest independent perfume retailer, The Fragrance Shop, has celebrated raising £1m in charitable donations for UK children’s charities through its Spray A Little Happiness Foundation.

To mark the fundraising milestone, the choir of the foundation’s first ever charity partner Rays of Sunshine Children’s Charity were joined by singer-songwriter and ambassador of Rays Of Sunshine, Olly Murs, who surprised them on stage at a special performance at Westfield London.

The choir, made up of nine youngsters aged between 6 and 15, all of whom are living with serious or life-limiting illnesses were delighted when Murs surprised them on stage during their performance of iconic feel-good song ‘Bring Me Sunshine’.

Murs has been an ambassador and supported the charity’s work since 2012. Commenting after the event he said: “I love being an ambassador for Rays of Sunshine Children’s Charity, and for a well-known retailer like The Fragrance Shop to have raised so much money for them and other UK children’s charities is just fantastic.

"This type of support really does help to make a difference to so many amazing children and their families and helps Rays of Sunshine put a smile on their faces by granting
their wishes. The choir are all amazing and to join them on stage when they are all singing their hearts out was an absolutely brilliant experience.”

After the performance, The Fragrance Shop chief executive officer, Sanjay Vadera, presented Murs with a cheque for £100,000 made out to Rays Of Sunshine.

Recently named as the Asian Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 and named in the 2018 Maserati 100 showcase of business innovators Vadera chose Rays of Sunshine as the first beneficiary of the Spray A Little Happiness Foundation in 2012 due to its commitment to working with seriously ill and disadvantaged children. The Fragrance Shop has managed to raise enough money to fund in excess of 500 separate wishes during this time.

Commenting on reaching the £1million milestone, Vadera commented: “Spreading the message of happiness beyond our stores and website is really important to our business, and this phenomenal milestone emphasises the commitment of our entire team and loyal customers to making the lives of seriously ill children that little bit brighter."

Since October 2012, The Fragrance Shop has donated 5p from every transaction both in-store and online to its charitable foundation. In addition, store staff and head office have been fundraising with a whole host of initiatives since the partnership began that have included marathons, coffee mornings and raffles. Customers have donated too, with a staggering 3,5000 customers opting to add 5p to their purchases when paying by card in-store via Pennies, the electronic charity box. These donations have raised £178,000 towards the total to date.