Press Release Template
January 2013
Cheer up and try some OrangeAid on Blue Monday
[Your Business] has teamed up with UK development charity Practical Action to turn the most
depressing day of the year into something positive.
Monday January 21 has been earmarked as the most depressing day of 2013, but Practical Action
has come up with the concept of a fun fundraising day, known as Orangeaid that aims to brighten
your day and improve the lives of people living in poverty overseas.
Inspiration for the idea comes from the charity’s colours and acts as an antidote to the combination
of the Monday, winter weather and post-Christmas blues that all combine to strike on the third
Monday of January.
Staff at [Your business] are donating £1 each to Practical Action and turning the place orange - by
donning orange wigs, tasteless orange clothes, fake tan even orange make-up!
[Your name and title] said: “Although it is a bit of a cliché’, people do genuinely feel low on Blue
Monday and turning everything orange is a way of making it a little bit more fun.
“We will be going one step further and even turning the home page of our website orange and [Your
business] will match the money raised. Those who don’t take part will be asked to donate a ‘fine’ to
Practical Action.
“Hopefully, it will mean that rather than dreading going to work, people will actually look forward to
it and supporting a charity who work with the poorest people in the world to provide solutions to
the problems they face every day.”
Matt Wenham, fundraising manager for Practical Action, said: “We came up with OrangeAid as a fun
alternative to Blue Monday.
“But on a serious note, it is all about asking people to put their problems into perspective. Although
you may be feeling low, at least you have a safe and secure home and a reliable source of food. The
people Practical Action work with will wake up on Monday unsure of whether they can afford to
keep their children in school and where their next meal is coming from. By taking part in Orangeaid
[your business] is helping Practical Action to help more than 1 million people across the world to
escape a life of poverty for good this year. You can show your support too at
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/OrangeAid”
Practical Action: The facts
Practical Action uses technology to challenge poverty in developing countries.
Our strength is our approach. We find out what people are doing and help them to do it better.
Through technology we enable poor communities to build on their skills and knowledge to produce
sustainable and practical solutions. Thus transforming their lives forever and protecting the world
around them.
By doing this each year we help around a million people break out of the cycle of poverty ….for
good.
Fritz Schumacher formed Practical Action in 1965 and later published his influential book ‘Small is
Beautiful’ in which he outlines how the use of technology to support development can help bring
people out of poverty in a sustainable way.
For more information about Practical Action, log on to www.practicalaction.org