Press Releases 2008

11/11/08	Charity Starts at the Checkout	Main Menu
	Waitrose West Byfleet to donate £1,000 a month to local good causes The Stephanie Marks Diabetes Appeal has been selected by Waitrose Partners and shoppers at its West Byfleet Branch to be one of three Community projects during the month of November, to benefit from a share of the supermarket's £1,000 regular donation. Becky Simpson - Duty Manager, Leanne Cook - Welcome Desk Assistant with Val Levy - Fundraising Manager Stephanie Marks Appeal 'Community Matters' is a corporate and social responsibility (CSR) initiative which will see all 194 Waitrose food shops across the UK donate money to local causes every month. The scheme was launched at Waitrose Byfleet in September this year and will result in Community projects in the local area benefiting from £12,000 of funding every year. Shoppers at the checkout will each be handed a green token which they can place into one of three labelled boxes at the store exit, allowing them to learn about and vote for the cause they would like to support. The more nominations a cause gets, the greater the share of the donation they will receive. Peter White, Branch Manager of Waitrose West Byfleet, comments, "'Community Matters' is a fantastic initiative that will make a huge difference to a lot of people in the area. We're passionate about our community and as a team are very proud to be working on such a worthwhile scheme. We look forward to seeing lots of nominations from our customers in the coming months." Barbara Draper from Pyrford - daily Waitrose Shopper supporting the Stephanie Marks Appeal The Stephanie Marks Appeal is the main charitable initiative run by Ashford & St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust (Registered Charity No. 1058567). It was launched in June 2003 with the aim of raising awareness of diabetes and generating funds to create a specialist Diabetes Centre. The purpose is to improve the quality of diabetes care in Surrey and West Middlesex. Planning permission has now been granted to modify and refurbish The Croft, an existing building located in the grounds of St. Peter's Hospital, Chertsey. The Diabetes Resource Centre will provide faster and easier local accessibility to diabetes treatment, education and research for patients, carers and medical professionals Val Levy, Fundraising Manager Stephanie Marks Appeal commented, "We would like to thank our supporters for nominating the Stephanie Marks Diabetes Appeal. We are thrilled to be able to participate in this innovative scheme by Waitrose West Byfleet. We would encourage shoppers to vote for us as Diabetes has been described as a major escalating but hidden epidemic, driven by lifestyle factors and ethnicity. When the Appeal was launched, 24,000 patients per annum were predicted to be seen at Ashford & St Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust by 2010 - that number has already been reached, making it necessary to improve the delivery of diabetes care NOW!" Val Levy Fundraising Manager