Shipping Containers Show Promise as Mobile Charity Centres

The potential for charities to extend their reach to other locations has become a reality thanks to portable shipping container conversion that are taking philanthropic efforts and hitting the road. Because these units are portable in nature, they easily lend themselves to travelling displays or shops, whether for charities or local businesses who want to reach a wider audience.

The PR firm Boyd PR and cancer charity, Look Good Feel Better, recently tested this theory when they created a mobile makeover workshop that travelled to twenty-one New Zealand towns. Look Good Feel Better is a charity that teaches women with cancer makeup application techniques with the goal of helping them to feel their best and stay positive in the face of cancer. Boyd PR was at the helm of the travelling makeup and cancer support, bringing together the country's most prominent transport companies to make this charitable road trip possible. The companies involved included Royal Wolf, Sistema Plastics, BP, Farmers, Mitre 10, Brosnan Transport, Bluebridge, Pacifica Shipping and PBT, all of whom came together and lent their resources to transporting the converted crate around the country.

The charitable road trip began in Timaru in April and travelled around the country before ending in Auckland in July to kick off the cancer charity’s Feel Better Month. Taking the Look Good Feel Better workshops on the road allowed women across New Zealand to access the charity’s service, many of whom wouldn’t have been able to otherwise, as workshops are only offered in major city centers. Workshops are typically offered at community centres, hospitals, or at local cancer charity’s offices, but this project has given the charity a space to call it’s very own. Clare O’Higgins, the Look Good Feel Better general manager applauds the efforts of Boyd PR and the transport companies who were involved in the campaign, stating that it was a “fantastic success for us this year,” before thanking both the workshop’s 420 participants and volunteers who made this endeavour possible.

The success of the portable Look Good Feel Better campaign raises some interesting ideas about how containers portability can be leveraged in the future for other uses. Both businesses and charities alike can benefit from reaching a broader audience with their brand or their awareness efforts and using portable units to spread their messages and promote their products may be an increasing trend in the coming years.

There truly is no limit to the ways that shipping containers can be used, in terms of both of how the physical space can be outfitted as well as the opportunities that are possible given portable crates transportability. The power that was realized by just one charity is the tip of the iceberg and opens some interesting discussion on how we might continue to see this portable charity trend continue in the future.