Sharing the birthday love: Metrocentre launches Gift Card Giveaway to raise funds for families facing hardship
Metrocentre, Gateshead is continuing its 40-year celebrations with the launch of a £2,500 Gift Card Giveaway to help raise funds for a new ‘birthday box’ appeal by long-standing charity partner, Feeding Families.
Starting today, Thursday 14 May 2026, shoppers are being invited to find the giant birthday cake – which measures an impressive 2.4m high – then scan the QR code to enter a prize draw for the chance to win a £500 Metrocentre gift card, redeemable at the majority of the mall’s 270+ stores, restaurants and leisure venues.
From now until the end of October, the giant birthday cake will visit five different locations within the centre, each with its own QR code and prize draw, creating a total of five chances to win a £500 Metrocentre gift card.
Each entry costs £2 and there’s no limit to the number of entries that can be made to any one prize draw, with all proceeds raised going to North East charity Feeding Families to support their work helping those facing food insecurity.
This includes the charity’s latest appeal, ‘Every Child Deserves a Birthday’. Introduced in response to growing concerns that children across the region are missing out on birthdays because families simply cannot afford to celebrate them, the appeal aims to provide youngsters living in financial hardship with a Birthday Celebration Box.
Boxes will include birthday essentials such as a cake, card, decorations, treats and a small age-appropriate gift, and will be distributed through trusted schools, family support services, charities and community organisations, helping ensure support reaches children discreetly and with dignity.
Gavin Prior, Centre Director at Metrocentre, said: “What better way to show our thanks to customers and store colleagues alike for their support over the years than with a gift card giveaway of this size and scale.
“The tie-in with Feeding Families, one of several local good causes we’ve partnered with over the years, adds an extra special layer, ensuring that more families facing financial hardship receive a helping hand, both with day-to-day needs and special occasions such as children’s birthdays.”
Wayne Dobson, CEO of Feeding Families, added: “We regularly meet parents who are doing everything they can simply to get through the week, and when money is already stretched beyond breaking point, celebrations are often the first thing families go without.
“Every Child Deserves a Birthday exists because every child should feel valued, celebrated, and remembered on their special day, regardless of their family’s financial circumstances.
“Birthday Boxes will not solve poverty, and we would never pretend they do, but they can protect an important childhood moment that poverty too often takes away.”
All entrants must be residents of the UK and be aged 18 or over. Full terms and conditions can be found at https://themetrocentre.co.uk/whats-on/events/40th-birthday-giveaway
