Intu Properties : shoppers Text Santa to make a difference this Christmas

Shoppers across the nation will be digging a little deeper this year as intu, the leading owner, developer and managing of prime regional shopping centres, is one of the support partners of Text Santa, ITV's nationwide Christmas charity.

intu has chosen ITV's Text Santa to be the first national charity it has supported at Christmas to help raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support, Make-A-Wish UK and Save the Children. Money raised for Text ITV's Santa from across intu's 15 centres will go towards funding nurses supporting cancer patients, granting wishes to children fighting life-threatening conditions and helping families in crisis.

Reflecting intu's 'come and play' Christmas theme, fundraising kicked off in early December with each centre putting on a variety of creative and fun activities to raise awareness and collect donations for Text Santa during the month. The climax of the campaign will be on Christmas Jumper Day on the 18 December where intu staff across the country will be encouraged to wear their best novelty Christmas woollies and collect donations from shoppers enjoying the fun.

Text Santa is now in its fifth year and has so far raised over £21million for UK charities. 100% of the money will be shared equally amongst the Text Santa charities going directly to support their vital work. All donations to Save the Children's international work will be matched pound for pound by the UK Government up to £5 million.

Trevor Pereira, commercial and digital director of intu, said: 'We are delighted to be partnering ITV Text Santa to help change the lives of thousands of people. As a national brand we wanted to partner with someone who could match that reach, whilst enabling us to support such incredibly worthy projects. The response from our customers has been fantastic, but we are looking forward to even more fun across our centres as our staff and customers get to experience some great moments that will not only bring a smile to their faces, but also help those most in need.'

There are many compelling Christmas events and fundraising activities being held at intu centres across the UK for customers and their families to enjoy this seasonal period. Visit www.intu.co.uk/Christmas to find your nearest intu centre, details of what's on and opening hours.

For more information on ITV Text Santa visit itv.com/textsanta. Donations can be made via the following platforms: To give £5 text SANTA5 to 70760; to give £10 text SANTA10 to 70760; to donate by phone call 0300 123 6060; or donate online at itv.com, stv.tv or u.tv

Text Santa Christmas Jumper Day is on Friday 18 December at 8pm on ITV.