Fintech Collection Pot has announced a new, easy way to collect for teachers’ Christmas gifts digitally which gives the teacher a choice on what their gift might be.
From providing childcare for key worker families and delivering online learning to helping children settle back into the school environment, it has been an extraordinary year for teachers and many parents and carers are keen to show their appreciation with a special gift this festive season. But finding the right gift, and collecting for it in a covid-secure way, are both key considerations this year.
With Collection Pot, a digital pot is created which parents and carers can contribute to online, adding a personal message from their family. Once the Pot closes, the teacher receives an email inviting them to spend their Pot. Pots can be redeemed on a range of national retailer gift cards, local gift cards or withdrawn to a UK/Ireland Visa debit card.
Receiving many of the same type of gift, such as toiletries and scented candles, can be an issue for teachers. Research suggests 62 per cent of unneeded gifts go to charity. Gift cards are particularly favoured by teaching staff with 32 per cent saying they would love to receive gift vouchers as gifts, whilst over 50 per cent would like a personal note from their pupils or their parents/carers.
Gift cards increased in popularity in October 2020, with 35.9 per cent of people buying gift cards for themselves or others, whilst gift cards that can be spent in a variety of places are increasing in popularity with 37.7 per cent of gift card purchases being the multi-store type.
Available in the Collection Pot redemption catalogue are national retailers like John Lewis, M&S and Sainsbury’s, experiences like TUI, Virgin and Champneys, hospitality brands like Zizzi, Just Eat and Costa, plus local multi-venue Town and City Gift Cards that are available for over 50 towns and cities around the UK and Ireland.
Collection Pot has found that the average collected for a teachers’ Pot is £180, with the most popular redemption choice for teachers being a John Lewis or M&S Gift Card. There are no fees for people setting up Pots and no cost to redeem Pots either.
Founder of Collection Pot, Wendy Carter, said: “Whilst all gifts are likely to be appreciated by teachers, having 30 gifts they don’t really want or need isn’t ideal.
“When they receive a Pot, a teacher might do their big Christmas shop, treat themselves to a spa day or enjoy a takeaway with their family. They may even decide to cash out to their Visa debit card. It’s about showing your appreciation and including that personal touch with a heartfelt message, but also giving teaching staff choice.
“This year, with social distancing in place and often staggered drop off and collection times, it isn’t going to be as easy to pass around an envelope for a teachers’ collection in the playground. Using Collection Pot saves time and hassle for the person organising the collection and it’s easy for parents and carers to get involved and show their thanks for teaching staff.”
