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Jackie Tyson is a very special woman; the Retail Director at the Paddington store at Paddington train station has raised more than £50,000 for Action Medical Research! Having worked in the shop since 1994, the long-serving professional from Beckenham in Kent continues to support the charity by selling special pin badges in the iconic shop. We caught up with Jackie in London to find out how she feels about reaching this incredible fundraising milestone.
Jackie Tyson has been working at the Paddington store since 1994
Jackie, first of all congratulations! How did you feel when you found out you’d raised £50,000?
It really does just amaze me how much we have raised, it is a fantastic amount. And it’s wonderful that Action has recognised this by awarding me a certificate but I really could not have done this on my own. I am so proud of all the staff here who have helped us raise this money for such an important charity.
Tell us a bit more about the pin badges…
Well we sell these in the shop and proudly display them by the till. There are five different variations which people can collect. There’s one of Paddington holding his beloved marmalade, preparing for the rain with an umbrella, there’s a sporty Paddington, a medical Paddington and one of him holding a birthday cake! A lot of customers see that they’re being sold to help raise money for Action and often ask a bit more about the charity, so it’s nice that we can help raise awareness as well as funds.
Fantastic! Paddington’s popularity is just soaring at the moment – how many people do you get in the shop every day?
Oooh, that’s quite a difficult one to answer. It does vary obviously, but I would say between 200-300 people on a daily basis. Maybe more. We’ve definitely seen an increase in footfall since the films came out; they really have helped make him an even more recognisable face across the globe and fans are keen to own some official memorabilia. There’s also a plaque and a bronze statue of Paddington near one of the platforms which were unveiled by Michael Bond himself, so there’s quite a few things for people to see when they come to Paddington station!
Other than the pin badges (!) what’s your favourite item in the store?
They’re all my favourite, ha! Gosh, we’ve just got so many wonderful pieces of merchandise it’s difficult to say. There is a cabinet which displays one or two vintage items, including a lovely picture of Michael Bond posing with Paddington. If you look closely there’s even a picture of me from many years ago when I first started working for the shop. Oh and of course we’ve got the certificate from Action framed in another cabinet too, so that’s a wonderful addition to the shop!
And finally, what it does mean to you to continue supporting Action?
Well we want to continue helping Action as much as possible because it is such a worthwhile charity. Michael Bond was such a big fan and it’s nice that we can continue to honour his wishes in this way. Our customers love the five different pin badges. They are happy to buy them when we tell them what the charity does for babies, children and their families. Who knows, hopefully we’ll hit that 100k mark soon!
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