The Lucy Rayner Foundation: Three Years of Charity Event Merchandise
Hotline has supplied The Lucy Rayner Foundation since 2023: bottles for its Run Reigate team and themed pens for two...
Hotline has supplied The Lucy Rayner Foundation since 2023: bottles for its Run Reigate team and themed pens for two Surrey gala dinners.
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View allHotline Promotional Products has supplied The Lucy Rayner Foundation, a Surrey mental health charity, since 2023. Branded water bottles and logo bugs for its Run Reigate team, gold pens for a "Going for Gold" gala at Epsom Racecourse, and engraved pens for an Arabian Nights gala dinner. The 2023 gala raised £62,495 and the 2025 gala raised £71,000.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Client | The Lucy Rayner Foundation, a mental health charity in Surrey |
| Sector | Mental health, counselling and youth support |
| Relationship | Ongoing since 2023, including sponsored event merchandise and an annual order placed by the foundation |
| 2023, Run Reigate | 770ml Pacific aluminium sports bottles and logo bugs, for 68 runners. Raised £9,429.18 |
| 2023, gala dinner | A2221 Elite printed metal pens in gold with the logo in black, for a "Going for Gold" gala at Epsom Racecourse on 14 October. Raised £62,495 |
| 2025, gala dinner | Engraved soft-touch metal ballpens with red detailing, for an Arabian Nights gala. Raised £71,000 |
| Result | Given to the first 100 VIP arrivals of 400 plus. Used on the day rather than pocketed, and guests asked to keep them |
| How it was funded | Hotline Sponsorship |
Who the foundation is
The Lucy Rayner Foundation was set up in memory of Lucy Rayner and provides free counselling and mental health support to young people and their families in Surrey. The money raised at the 2025 gala is going towards a new Wellbeing Centre bringing its services together in one place.
The foundation runs a full calendar, with the gala dinner as its largest event of the year. Emma Rayner:
Each year, we host our spectacular Gala Dinner, marking it as our grand finale and the most crucial event of the year.
2023: thanking 68 runners at Run Reigate
The foundation entered a team of 68 runners in Run Reigate under its "Run Off Depression" campaign, and raised £9,429.18.
Runners got 770ml aluminium sports bottles and logo bugs carrying both the foundation's logo and the campaign name.
The logo bugs and water bottles played a crucial role in expressing our appreciation to our runners.
Two things about that are worth copying if you are entering a team in a mass participation event.
Thank the participants, not the crowd. Someone who has trained for months and raised money on your behalf is not the same audience as a spectator. A bottle they will use on every run afterwards reads as a thank-you. A leaflet does not.
Put the campaign name on it, not only the logo. "Run Off Depression" says what the team was doing in a way that a charity logo alone does not. A runner asked about the bottle at the gym has an answer that explains the cause rather than just naming the charity.
2023: gold pens for a Going for Gold gala
That October the foundation held its gala dinner at Epsom Racecourse on a "Going for Gold" theme, and raised £62,495.
The pens were gold Elite printed metal, with the logo printed in black.
The gold pens created an extra element of luxury on the evening as well as enabling us to tie in the theme even on the table setting.
That sentence is the most useful thing in three years of articles. At a themed event, most organisers theme the room and then order merchandise separately, in whatever colour the logo happens to be. Choosing the product colour to match the theme costs nothing extra and it makes the item look like part of the evening rather than something a supplier sent.
Hotline proved to be an impeccable match due to their clear communication and generous support, making them the perfect fit for our needs.
2025: engraved pens for an Arabian Nights gala
Two years later the theme was Arabian Nights and the raise was £71,000, going towards the new Wellbeing Centre. The pens were engraved soft-touch metal with red detailing.
The pens fit beautifully with the theme and the overall aesthetic of the evening.
The pens were really well received. They were a thoughtful touch and added a nice personal element.
An attendee's comment, quoted by the foundation, is the version worth remembering:
a lovely touch and a perfect reminder of a wonderful evening supporting a great cause.
Note the shift from printed to engraved between 2023 and 2025. Engraving costs more per unit and it produces a permanent mark rather than a printed one, which suits a keepsake at an event where guests have paid to attend. If you run the same event annually, moving up a branding method is a cheaper way to raise the perceived quality than moving up a product.
Products hotline™ has sponsored for the Lucy Rayner Foundation
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What three years with one client actually teaches you
Match the merchandise to the theme, not to the brand guidelines. Gold for Going for Gold. Red for Arabian Nights. The logo still went on, and the item still looked like it belonged to the evening.
Order once, use across the year. Emma Rayner:
We usually do a large order at the beginning of the year, and we'll be using hotline™ again.
For an organisation running several events annually, one larger order at the start beats several small ones. The per-unit price falls as the quantity rises, there is one artwork round rather than four, and nobody is chasing a delivery three weeks before an event.
Consistency does the work that a bigger budget would. Three years of the same foundation showing up with items that look considered builds something a single expensive gift cannot.
our contribution played a significant role in the success of the event.
We would highly recommend reaching out to hotline™ to any organisation looking for event sponsorship.
Our guide to promotional products for charity events and fundraisers covers ordering on charity funds, and how to choose promotional products for an event covers matching a product to the occasion. Our case study on branded trolley coins at a charity ball covers keepsakes at a black-tie fundraiser.
Every product page shows its own price at the quantity you enter, its minimum order and its guaranteed delivery date, before you speak to anyone.
To see what is available, browse our printed pens, our sports bottles and drinkware or our charity and community merchandise.