Published May 15th, 2023
A SPAR store in Devon owned by south west wholesaler Appleby Westward has held two fundraisers in aid of end-of-life charity, Marie Curie.
The Ashburton store raised a total of £1065.00 for Marie Curie throughout March by holding a cake sale and a raffle. Staff members also wore yellow outfits to promote the charity’s Great Daffodil Appeal.
The raffle gave customers the chance to win two specially-curated hampers, one containing £50 of food and drink from the store, and another containing Prime drinks, one of the store’s best-selling brands. Staff baked their own cakes for the sale and received donations from local eateries including Coljan Café and Taylor’s Tea Room.
Katie Barnett, store assistant, said: “We love fundraising at Ashburton SPAR and always try and plan events for each special time of the year; at Christmas we held a colouring competition at our local primary school and handed out chocolate to the winning children, and we have recently donated hot cross buns to the local church to help them celebrate Easter.
“The cake sale and raffle went down really well with our customers and it’s thanks to them that we raised so much. We’re also really grateful for Coljan and Taylor’s for donating their delicious cakes.”
The store’s owner, Appleby Westward, regularly fundraises for Marie Curie and its team also helped deliver PPE for the charity during the Covid-19 pandemic, while the Ashburton team regularly holds charity fundraisers and donates produce to local charities, organisations and schools. These activities are encouraged by Appleby Westward’s Nurture Our Neighbourhoods initiative which was designed to support the local communities surrounding each of its stores.
The winner of the food and drink hamper was a local man who, while delighted to have won, asked the store team to donate the produce to someone in need. The team chose an elderly customer called Geraldine who visits the store every day to buy a newspaper and lives close to the store in supported housing. Due to the nature of Geraldine’s accommodation, the store team were aware that she does not have an oven and therefore amended the hamper contents accordingly.
The Prime drinks hamper was given to a young boy who also visits the store every day. The Ashburton team have an existing relationship with the boy as he recently completed some work experience at the store as part of his college course, so they were delighted to gift him the prize.
Appleby Westward and SPAR Ashburton hope to continue their charity fundraising efforts throughout the year and will continue supporting their local communities wherever possible.
To find out more about the Nurture Our Neighbourhoods initiative and your local SPAR store, visit www.spar.co.uk.
