Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire has taken part in a special themed Superhero Day to help raise money for Liverpool baby hospice, Zoe’s Place.

The company teamed up with Radio City’s Cash for Kids charity, its chosen charity for 2016, to support the baby hospice, which provides respite and end of life care to babies and infants aged from birth to five years suffering from life-limiting or life-threatening conditions.

Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire also provided a specially branded ‘Cash for Kids’ bus which was used to host the Radio City Anthems Show from Anfield Road Primary School.

Children from the school joined Lee Butler and the Radio City team for the special broadcast to help raise awareness and money for Zoe’s Place. The school was chosen to hold the show as part of a competition hosted by Cash for Kids.

50 Stagecoach drivers took part in the fundraising fun and dressed up as superheroes for the day collecting donations for the charity on the firm’s Liverpool buses. Customers were surprised to see superheroes taking them on their journeys with passengers expressing their surprise and delight on social media.

Stagecoach collected over £1,000 in donations from passengers and employees on Superhero Day, with the money being gifted to Zoe’s Place

Elisabeth Tasker, Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire managing director, said:

“We’re delighted to have taken part in this fundraising event for Zoe’s Place and it was wonderful to see how excited the children at Anfield Road Primary School were to be hosting a radio show, on a Stagecoach bus, from their very own playground.

“Zoe’s Place is a fantastic charity that offers families support, advice and care during incredibly difficult circumstances. The team at Zoe’s Place are real-life superheroes to any mum or dad whose child has benefited from the hospice, and we’re very pleased that we’ve been able to support what is an incredible resource for the Merseyside community through our charity of the year, Cash for Kids.

“We’re very proud of all our drivers for being such good sports and dressing up as superheroes for the whole day. We’re especially grateful for the generous donations from all our wonderful passengers.”

Stephanie Kewley, Nursery Lead at Anfield Road School, said:

“It was brilliant to have the Stagecoach team and Radio City broadcasting directly from the school! It was an amazing day in aid of a wonderful cause and the kids haven’t stopped talking about it!”

Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire was found to be the best value operator in England by an independent survey carried out earlier this year. The market-leading company has over 1,200 staff and over 400 vehicles serving more than 42 million customers a year. It is one of the UK’s most sustainable bus operators and has reduced carbon emissions by 30 per cent in the last five years. All Stagecoach vehicles are fitted with eco-driving systems which lower emissions and the company has shown the biggest commitment to using 100 per cent biofuel of any UK bus operator.