Two Suffolk businesses are encouraging youngsters to reveal their artistic talent as they team up with the UK’s leading animal welfare charity.
Wolsey Van Centre in Ipswich and Volkswagen Van Centre (Bury St Edmunds) is calling on children from six years and above to enter a national competition to design the exterior of the soon-to-be-launched fleet of RSPCA vans.
The new, specially customised Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle Crafter vans are expected to save the charity around £800,000 a year in running costs.
Previously the RSPCA had to rely on private boarding kennels to provide temporary homes for animals. However, the six new vans will revolutionise their service, enabling the charity to move around 64,000 animals to its various RSPCA centres, reducing boarding costs and helping the charity to home up to 15,000 more animals a year.
“We are proud to be working in partnership with the RSPCA and would like children to use their imagination when creating their designs,” said David Nichols, head of business at the Volkswagen commercial vehicles businesses.
“These vehicles will be travelling the length and breadth of the UK and will be an integral part of the charity’s operations. The designs should be colourful and demonstrate the variety of animals that benefit from the charity’s work as well as capturing the general public’s interest and ultimately the awareness of the RSPCA’s work.”
“There will be six national winners so we really hope that one will be from the Suffolk area,” concluded David.
The RSPCA design a van initiative is part of a nationwide competition in partnership with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. The six winning designs will be replicated onto the exterior of the vehicles.
Speaking of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle partnership, Matthew Cull, head of high value giving at the RSPCA, said: “We are delighted to be working with such a highly regarded brand.
“The Crafter vans are particularly spacious and will be specially converted to meet our needs, including cages to safely transport the animal as well as featuring racking and storage areas.
“The vans will provide a valuable lifeline for both the animal’s welfare and their future prospects of finding a new home as well as delivering essential cost savings for the charity as a whole.
“The six winners could come from any part in the UK as we are looking for inspirational and vibrant designs but we would like to wish youngsters in the Suffolk area the very best of luck.” added Matthew.
Children are required to visit www.rspca.org.uk/vwcv for full competition details and to download the artwork template. All entries will need to be posted and received by 30th September to be considered for the competition.
For further information on the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles range available at Wolsey Van Centre call 08448 112 439 or Volkswagen Van Centre (Bury St Edmunds) on 01284 715 900.