Store’s giveaway aids local groups (From Salisbury Journal)

Store’s giveaway aids local groups

10:00am Monday 17th September 2012 in New Forest News By Miranda Robertson

THREE local charities have been given cash in a monthly supermarket giveaway.

Waitrose in Ringwood’s Community Matters scheme donates £1,000 each month, split between three local causes.

The money is apportioned based on the number of green tokens each charity or local cause receives from customers who shop there.

Staff handed over £260 to the Bransgore Children's Art Club, £350 to TEDS Toy Exchange in Ringwood and £390 to Fordingbridge Rainbows, Brownies and Guides.

To regsister an interest in being one of the charities Waitrose helps, pop into the store for an information card.

The supermarket is also looking for suitable local charities which have a need for manpower, as it can also provide support through a new community volunteering scheme that has been launched this year.

The Partner Volunteering scheme was launched after a survey revealed nearly 70 per cent of people in the UK don’t do any type of volunteering at all.

The scheme will see all 277 Waitrose branches nationwide donate 250 hours (100 for convenience stores) of employees’ time to local charities and good causes each year, meaning a total of 75,000 hours will be donated across the branches.

The scheme has been designed to enable Waitrose staff, who are known as partners, to take time out of their day-to-day work to give back to their local community.

This could include supporting local good causes and charities with a project they may otherwise be unable to complete, or passing on their skills to make a difference.

Kevin Garrett, who heads up community projects for the chain, said: “Schemes like Community Matters give something tangible to those who need it most - and this week we take this commitment one step further with the launch of Partner Volunteering.”

Anyone who needs volunteers for a charity or community scheme should ask in store.