Waitrose celebrates a year of charity work

By Rob Virtue on October 16, 2009 10:58 AM |

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A year after its launch, Waitrose's Community Matters initiative has raised £12,000 for 36 different good causes around Canary Wharf.

The scheme, which allows customers the chance to vote on which of three charities get the biggest slice of £1,000 each month, celebrated its first birthday last Thursday.

At an event which saw guests, including actor Sir Ian McKellen, attend the Canada
Square branch, manager Russell Cattell said: "The scheme is vitally important and it's about us being part of the community.

"The system is also easy for our customers to take part in and involves our staff, who decide which of the suggested charities go through each month."

Community Matters is run in Waitrose stores throughout the country, but Russell believes, with the Canary Wharf store's proximity to some poorer parts of east London, it has unique importance.

He said: "We are a big branch with over 70,000 customers - a mix of those who work in this area and those who live near.

"The scheme provides a link for the charities to Canary Wharf and that other companies and banks here could help them."

Another part of Waitrose community work that was highlighted was time given off to staff for voluntary work.

Waitrose administration manager Shan Miah, 28, did a six-month stint at the Newark Youth London, a centre for young people in Stepney, while still being paid by the store.

During his time there he built a membership database and helped raise the profile of the charity through a marketing campaign.

Shan said: "I've been involved with the group for a long time and it's something I've always wanted to do but financially I couldn't as I have a family to care for.

"This allowed me to go away, still get paid and then come back into my role at Waitrose."

Among the 36 groups which were given money in Community Matters was Tower Hamlets youth charity Step Forward, which received £290 last month.

The group, which is supported by Sir Ian, provides a "listening service" for young people in the region on issues ranging from therapy for victims of abuse to career advice for school-leavers.

Director Jennifer Fear said: "We'll probably use it to help fund our drop in service. This is our first involvement with Waitrose and we want to build a long-term relationship with them. I'm particularly interested in the placement scheme."