Those little green tokens Waitrose hand out to customers at the till have taken on a new significance in the run-up to Christmas – because the supermarket has boosted the support it gives to charities in the community.
And with a rising 26,000 customers a week pouring into the Marlborough store, they can personally make a real difference by deciding which of the charities they want to support the most.
Waitrose normally shares out £1,000 a month throughout the year as part of its good causes Community Matters enterprise helping 36 charities, but last month and again this month the sum has been raised to £3,000.
This is as a result of Waitrose nationally giving an extra £1 million by cutting back on the production costs of its “Giving more this Christmas” TV advert featuring Delia Smith and Heston Blumenthal.
The first three charities chosen for November have been handed their share of the Christmas booty — £1,296 by way of food and gift vouchers going to the Over 60’s Christmas Lunch event held at Marlborough town hall, £828 to Marlborough’s Jubilee Centre and £876 to the New Road Centre disability charity.
And now customers have their chance to decide how divide the £3,000 December fund between Starlight, which provides Christmas treats for children spending the holiday in the Great Western Hospital, the Marlborough-based Kennet Home Start charity that supports parents and young children, and Doorway, a charity helping the homeless in Chippenham.
“How the little green tokens flow is for the customers to decide, the money being shared out according the number of tokens put in the individual charity slots,” Waitrose manager Andy Davies (pictured) told Marlborough News Online. “We are simply delighted to be working with the charities. We feel it’s important that we do even more this Christmas to help those in need.”
“The reaction has been really good. The customers like the idea. They are suddenly seeing there is a significant amount of money available and it is a great opportunity for the 26,000 people who come through here every week to put a green token in the slot and directly make a difference. So we’re pleased with that.”
The share-out for the £3,000 on offer for December will be made in January.
Meanwhile, the supermarket has also helped out the Trussell Trust food bank branch based in Devizes, thanks to customers donating three quarters of a ton of food to be distributed to those in need in the run up to Christmas.
“Customers did that in just one day and last Saturday staff from the Trussell Trust came here to Marlborough to collect it with local MP Claire Perry on hand to support it,” added Mr Davies.
High fees are a threat to the future health of Marlborough College warns its former Master
