Meet the Team Bringing Diabetes UK's Message to the High Street

Walk past a Gemini stand on a Saturday afternoon and you'll usually find the same thing: a fundraiser in a branded top, a tablet in hand, and a genuine conversation already underway. For our Diabetes UK campaign, that conversation starts with a simple fact, more people than ever are living with diabetes in the UK, and the vast majority have Type 2.

Why private site fundraising works

Private site fundraising means setting up in supermarkets, retail parks and shopping centres with the venue's permission, so our team can talk to people who are already out and about, rather than interrupting them at home. It's a format that suits a conversation-first approach: no scripts, no pressure, just an honest explanation of what Diabetes UK does and why regular giving, often through their weekly lottery, makes such a difference.

"People don't sign up because of a target on a whiteboard," one of our team leads told us. "They sign up because they've just had a two-minute conversation with someone who clearly cares about the cause."

Training that goes beyond the pitch

Before anyone represents Diabetes UK on our behalf, they go through structured training covering the charity's work, compliance requirements, and, just as importantly, how to read a conversation and know when someone simply isn't interested. Respecting a "no" is as much a part of the job as making the case for a "yes".

It's a small detail, but it's the kind of thing that separates fundraising done properly from fundraising done for the sake of numbers. And it's exactly why we built Gemini the way we did.