On 4^th July 1776, the United States declared its independence from Great Britain and the date has remained as a big day of celebration for Americans…

If you have family or friends in the States, more than likely they’ll be celebrating 4th July with backyard BBQs and explosive fireworks. DHL helps families and friends celebrate special events, like Independence Day, regardless of the distance between them.

We make it easy to send gifts to your friends this Independence Day. With over 1,300 Service Points nationwide, we’re sure to be on a high street near you. So, once you’ve found the perfect present, just take it to your local Service Point and we’ll send it on its way!

Why not impress them with some of our favourite 4^th July facts?

• On 4^th July 1776, America declared its independence from Britain. It was the separation of 13 colonies from Great Britain.
• Each year on 4^th July, Americans celebrate that freedom and independence with barbecues, picnics and family gatherings.
• The estimated population on 4^th July 2013 is 316.2 million
• Three of America’s first five presidents died on 4^th July.
• 150 million hotdogs are consumed on 4^th July every year
• 700 million lbs of chicken is purchased in the week leading up to 4^th July
• 190 million lbs of red meat/pork is purchased in the week leading up to 4^th July
• 25 million lbs of fireworks is sold to cities for public celebrations
• 11: number of places in the US with “Independence” in their name

Sources: (CNN, The Herald Tribune, US Census Bureau as of 7.3.2012)

Whilst we can’t deliver sizzling BBQs or explosive fireworks, we can help you join your American buddies in spirit by celebrating Independence Day with a hamper full of American goodies. Click here to find out more about our new competition. But hurry, it closes tomorrow!

Will you be apart from your mum this Mother’s Day? Whether she’s in London or Lagos, Kent or Kano, DHL Service Point will help you make her day.

Forget the flowers and chocolates, she deserves something special! For your chance to win a Pamper Hamper packed full of indulgent goodies for your mum to relax with, just follow us on Twitter @dhlservicepoint, find our special Mother’s Day message and retweet it – it’s that simple!

Good luck!

Terms & conditions

1. The draw is open to all @dhlservicepoint Twitter followers that retweet our Mother’s Day message.
2. The prize is a pamper hamper. This is non transferrable and cannot be exchanged for cash or any other prize of equivalent value.
3. The closing date for all entries is 23.59 on Sunday 10th March 2013
4. The winner will be drawn at random from all eligible entries received.
5. The winner will be notified by 12th March 2013 by Twitter. Failure to respond within seven days of notification will result in the prize being withdrawn and a replacement winner drawn.
6. The Draw is open to UK residents aged 18 and over only. Entry is free and no purchase is necessary.
7. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
8. DHL employees and agencies working on behalf of DHL and their immediate families are not eligible to enter the Draw.
9. The winner agrees that DHL International (UK) Ltd their subsidiaries, affiliates, related companies and employees, and any other sponsors and Prize providers shall have no liability in connection with acceptance or use of any of the Prizes awarded in the Draw. We reserve the right to disqualify any entrant and/or winner at our absolute discretion.
10. Winners may be required to participate in publicity.
11. The details of the winner can be requested by writing enclosing a stamped addressed envelope to the promoter at: Marketing Department, DHL International (UK) Limited, 178-188 Great South West Road, Hounslow, Middlesex, TW4 6JS.
12. English law applies and the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts shall prevail.

The Promoter:

DHL International (UK) Ltd, 178-188 Great South West Road, Hounslow, Middlesex TW4 6JS.

Have you got your dad a Father’s Day present yet? (It’s this Sunday by the way!) And no, novelty socks or golf balls don’t count – we mean a proper present!

This year, let him choose something he really wants, with £100 in High Street vouchers courtesy of DHL Service Point.

And just because we’re feeling extra generous, we’re also giving away £20 in cinema vouchers to our second-favourite entry.

To be in with a chance of winning, tweet us at @dhlservicepoint telling us why your dad’s the best. Remember to include the hashtag #dhldads so we can track your entries.

Go on, treat your dad to something special this Father’s Day.

Terms and conditions

1. The Prize: £100 in High Street vouchers for the winner and £20 in cinema vouchers for the runner-up
2. The draw is open to all @dhlservicepoint Twitter followers and DHL Service Point blog users
3. You must use the hashtag #dhldads in your tweet
4. All entrants must be over 16 years of age
5. Only one entry per person is allowed
6. Only one winner will be picked for each prize
7. The competition is open to UK residents only
8. No purchase necessary
9. The competition will close at noon on Friday 15^th June
10. Prizes are non-transferable and no cash alternative will be given
11. Rude or offensive entries will not be accepted
12. The judges’ decision is final
13. DHL employees are not eligible to enter the competition
14. Prizes will be dispatched by the 10^th working day of the date of the draw. Details of the winner can be requested by writing to the promoter at: Marketing Department, DHL International (UK) Limited, 178-188 Great South-West Road, Hounslow, Middlesex, TW4 6JS

Ahead of the Rugby World Cup 2011,  DHL and local youngsters received a few tips from England star, Mark Cueto

With just over a month to go until the big kick-off of Rugby World Cup 2011, preparations are well under way for England’s first game against Argentina on September 10th.

As the tournament’s Official Logistics Partner, DHL will be heading to New Zealand in top form, ensuring transportation of all 19 teams and key equipment throughout the competition.

That said, it’s never to late to learn a few new tricks from the experts, so we invited Sale Sharks and England winger, Mark Cueto, to visit us at our East Midlands Airport hub and give us a few tips.

England star Cueto, an ambassador for DHL in the lead-up to World Cup 2011, visited our hub last week to meet a group of lucky local youngsters.

The day represented a fantastic culmination of DHL preparations ahead of the England team’s departure for New Zealand, with local children excited to meet their hero. “I couldn’t believe I got to meet Mark. He’s an amazing player! I was so excited – I can’t wait to tell my friends and show them my autographed rugby ball,” said 15-year-old, Max Adams.

The England winger tackled a Q&A grilling from the children – aged between four and 15 – before taking part in an autograph session.

“The kids were extremely knowledgeable about rugby and weren’t afraid to ask me some really tricky questions! It’s great to see young people so enthusiastic about the game. Hopefully, if they continue to work hard, we’ll see some Rugby World Cup stars of the future,” Cueto commented.

In our role as Official Logistics Partner, we’ll deliver over 100 tonnes of equipment, with our fleet covering around 30,000km, in the lead up and during the tournament. What’s more, fans can trust their tickets are in safe hands: from the opening match to the final, we’ll distribute 1.6 millions tickets to fans worldwide.

Phil Couchman, CEO of DHL Express UK & Ireland, commented: “We’re delighted to have been able to offer local children the opportunity to meet their hero. The children were thrilled to meet Mark, and interested to find how DHL will be delivering rugby to the world.”

See more from Mark’s day at DHL’s EMA hub by clicking here

For more information on DHL Servicepoint visit:www.dhlservicepoint.co.uk

After lots of deliberation and a few, lets say ‘heated’, debates, the winners of a competition to produce artwork for our East Midlands Airport (EMA) hub have finally been announced!

Congratulations to our six Primary School competition winners: Eleanor Harper, Molly Daykin, and Lewis Morgan from Orchard Primary School, and Lois Abiodun, Laurie Field and Owen Dunmore from Kegworth Primary School. Illustrators Ros Goodall and Will Haywood were also announced as winners from Loughborough University.

For the competition, we asked students from the two primary schools and Loughborough University to create stunning pieces of art to liven up the hub interior.

There was only one catch: students had to try and capture the worldwide scope of what DHL does in their work. Not an easy task, but as you can probably tell from the image above, one that the students approached with real gusto and imagination. With over 170 local children and students entering, competition was fierce, but winners have been justly rewarded with a selection of prizes and the chance to have their masterpieces permanently displayed at the EMA hub.

“This competition has given students from Loughborough an excellent opportunity to develop their CVs. Being able to say that a global company such as DHL has commissioned your work is certainly a great head start for our illustrators,” explained Loughborough University’s own Illustration and Animation Lecturer, Andrew Selby, who helped judge the competition and ran art workshops for the children.

Headteachers from each school expressed delight at being involved in the project. “Our children really enjoyed the workshop. Knowing that their art will be hanging in one of the area’s biggest businesses has given them a sense of real pride,” said Anne Sherwood, Head at Orchard Primary School. It was a sentiment echoed by Louise Norton, Head at Kegworth Primary, who added: “The children were delighted to think of exciting and different ways in which packages could be transported to such a huge variety of places.”

The final images are on permanent display at DHL’s EMA hub. To see more examples of the entrants work, check out our Flickr page.

DHL’s new Speed of Yellow campaign takes you on an epic journey around the world – and into outer space…

Monday 31^st May is set to be a momentous occasion. Not only is it a Bank Holiday, meaning a lovely lie-in and chance for a Come Dine with Me-based duvet day – it’s also the date when month’s of hard work finally culminates in the launch of our extraordinary new Speed of Yellow advertising campaign.

At the heart of the new campaign is you, the customer. For over 40 years, the desire to meet your needs has been driving us forwards. That’s what the campaign is all about: the passion and focus to connect more people across the world than any other company. It’s something that we decided to call The Speed of Yellow. Yes, it’s about the speed with which DHL delivers. But it’s also a message we felt nicely epitomizes our international efficiency, powered by 100,000 dedicated DHL minds working together as one.

But enough of the theory. What do the adverts actually look and sound like? Well, we thought we’d give all our loyal blog readers and Twitter followers a bit of a sneak peek.

The new adverts take you on an epic journey across the globe – from the streets of New York to Paris, eventually, up into space! You travel with the Speed of Yellow: a bright yellow light that reflects the DHL in destinations across the globe – revealing everything DHL, from vans in Shanghai through to snow mobiles in Alaska.

Following the light, you’ll go on a journey that shows everything DHL makes possible – the creation of concept cars in Paris, filmmaking in Alaska, science experiments in Mumbai, circuit boards in space, and fashion shows in New York. And it’s all set to the perfect DHL soundtrack – a modern take on the classic Ain’t No Mountain High Enough!

Quite a trip, we’ll hope you’ll agree.

Look out for the adverts from Monday and experience the DHL Speed of Yellow delivery difference.

For more information on DHL Servicepoint: www.dhlservicepoint.co.uk