[WiLT] Community Matters - money for local groups via Waitrose shoppers

[WiL Admin]

Community Matters - money for local groups via Waitrose shoppers

Waitrose's new giving initiative, Community Matters, will be rolled
out to all branches from Monday (21 July).

Each trading month, shops will have £1,000 to divide between three
local organisations- such as welfare organisations, community groups,
schools or local divisions of national charities. All branches should
have the system in place by 9 September.

Under the scheme, customers nominate organisations, with the final
decision made by PartnerVoice forums (Waitrose's local democratic
bodies). Each branch will have a Community Matters Champion, who will
find out about potential beneficiaries.

Customers will be offered a token every time they shop. These can be
inserted in one of three Perspex tubes - one for each organisation. At
the end of the month the tokens for each organisation are weighed.
Then the beneficiaries will then receive a proportion of the cash.

'Community Matters has been well received by the local communities,'
says Tish Holland, Assistant to Community Liaison Manager. 'Customers
are very happy to join in, and branches are excited about the
rollout.'

At Witney, where the scheme was trialled, the initiative is already
proving popular. Branch Manager Gill Armstrong says: 'Our customers
love it, and it's raised our profile locally.'

Less well-known local organisations have also enjoyed a publicity
boost. 'One of the recipients was a local group for children who are
largely excluded from school,' says Gill. 'A customer who had given
them a token decided to get in touch and became a regular volunteer as
a result.'

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