The All England Lawn Tennis Club, this year raised more than £600,000 in donations for the Wimbledon Foundation, during the Wimbledon fortnight and the funds will go to supporting the Foundation in all its activities in the local community and beyond.

Ticket re-sales totalling £234,000 amounted to a large percentage of the money raised together with £170,000 donated by The Championships’ Official Banking partner, HSBC.

A further £130,000 was generated through The Championships’ first ever reusable cup deposit scheme, after guests were given the option to donate their £1 reusable cups to the Foundation and Keith Prowse, Official Hospitality provider to The Championships, made a £100,000 donation, in payment for every hospitality package that was sold.

Paige Murphy, Head of the Wimbledon Foundation, said: “This year’s Championships was special. Not just the tennis on display and the stories this provided, but for us at the Wimbledon Foundation. We were delighted to have The Championships back at full capacity again, and for the Foundation to welcome so many guests from the local community, including charities and refugees, helping them to experience the magic of Wimbledon.”

On the middle Sunday of The Championship, the Foundation welcomed 1,300 refugee guests from Ukraine, Syria, and Afghanistan who have settled locally. The Foundation team distributed over 1,000 lunch vouchers and strawberries and cream vouchers, while former player Olga Savchuk met Ukrainian guests at the Foundation Kiosk.  

In the last year, the Wimbledon Foundation has distributed more than £3 million to local, national and international charities. £1 million of that money has been donated to strengthen and support local charities and community groups in Merton and Wandsworth. These include Merton Connected, Polka Theatre, Deen City Farm, Spires London, St. George’s Hospital, St Raphael’s Hospice, Thrive and Waste Not Want Not Battersea. A further quarter of a million has been sent to the British Red Cross and DEC’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal to support those affected by the crisis.

The Wimbledon Foundation also makes in-kind, donations to groups in the community including donating the plants from The Championship to local charities and community groups.

Beau Fadahunsi, Head of Development and Volunteering at Merton Connected, a recipient of the plant donations, said: “We are so grateful to the Wimbledon Foundation for their donation of plants, following this year’s Championships. We managed to squeeze 67 individual plants into our facility which has already made a significant impact in fast-tracking the development of our Wellbeing Garden and we look forward to watching the plants flourish and be enjoyed by members of the local community.”

Another benefactor of the plants was Hilary O’Connor, Head of Operation at the Polka Theatre. She said: “Polka Theatre wishes to extend its thanks to the Wimbledon Foundation for its generous donation of plants. The plants have collectively made a noticeable difference to the offices and open spaces at Polka Theatre, and our staff are charmed by the beauty they have brought to the work environment.”

In partnership with Water Aid, the Wimbledon Foundation created a mosaic ahead of this year’s Championships, highlighting how 11,000 children’s lives could be saved during the course of the Fortnight with access to clean water and good hygiene.

The mosaic made up of 10,000 tennis balls, was donated by Slazenger and the balls were distributed to local charities after the event was over.