Spar’s South West Regional Distribution Centre, Appleby Westward, which also owns and operates a number of Spar stores, has chosen 18 organisations in the region to receive a slice of the group’s £20,000 Community Cashback donation fund.
The highest grant was made to Cornish charity Coast Medic, which specialises in providing professional medical care to casualties at sea and in rural areas of the county. Coast Medic will use the £2,250 grant to buy specialist equipment and provide expert training to help the team continue their important work.
A Bridport community group was chosen to receive the second-highest grant of £2,000. Stepping Out Cancer Rehabilitation Community Group is a wellbeing group which aims to help adults with their recovery from, or improve their quality of life whilst living with, any form of cancer. The group does this by running a range of specifically-tailored group activities which all help attendees to grow a support network of likeminded people. Stepping Out provides its service free of charge to the end-user to ensure that there are no barriers to entry for those who want to take part, therefore the grant will be put towards continuing running this much-needed and appreciated service.
The 2022 Community Cashback scheme awarded five organisations with grants ranging from £1,000 to £10,000, but after the sheer volume of applications received this year, the 2023 scheme has been divided into smaller grants so that a larger number of organisations can benefit, with donations ranging from £400 to £2,250.
Nick Vivian, head of marketing at Appleby Westward, said: “We are delighted that Spar’s Community Cashback scheme has returned for a second year as the whole team at Appleby Westward love getting involved and being able to give back to our communities.
“We received nearly 2,000 applications this year from various organisations across the South West, so it was a very difficult task to narrow them down to just 18 lucky recipients. Each organisation has been thrilled to have been chosen and I know each grant is going to help them all continue their amazing work.”
Other recipients in the 2023 Community Cashback initiative include:
- North Dartmoor Search & Rescue which received a £1,800 grant
- Cornwall Deaf Centre which received a £1,000 grant
- Devon & Cornwall Food Action which received a £1,000 grant
- Solent MS Therapy Centre which received a £1,000 grant
- Frome Community Fridge which received a £1,000 grant
- Somerset Wildlife Trust which received a £1,000 grant
Philip Kiberd from Somerset Wildlife Trust said: “We are hugely grateful to have been chosen to receive a grant from Appleby Westward. It will be a great contribution towards our work to manage our nature reserves, connect more people to nature, and help nature recover. Having a strong ecosystem around us not only benefits the wildlife, but also our own wellbeing, and it’s more important than ever to look after it.”
Appleby Westward’s £20,000 donation fund is part of Spar UK’s national Community Cashback initiative in which it donates a total pot of £100,000 to each of its five regional wholesalers. The initiative encourages communities with a Spar store to nominate groups in local areas that have positively impacted the neighbourhood and need financial support.
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