Page 38 Supporting our communities


Our approach to financial support
Fundraising, sponsorship and donations to good causes form an important part of our total community investment. We contribute both as a company and as individual Partners, actively supporting store fundraising efforts, so it is important that Partners have a say in how our collective contributions are best allocated locally. Our Community Committee (with elected Partner representatives) also makes donations on behalf of Waitrose.

A new initiative –Waitrose Community Matters – was rolled out across all our shops this summer. The scheme enables customers and Partners at each shop to nominate local charities and community groups for company support, of which three are selected each month by Partners. Customers get a token at the checkout, which enables them to vote for one of the causes at the shop exit, and the number of votes determines each charity's share of a monthly donation of £1,000. Following its success, it will be rolled out to our farm shop and nursery customers at Leckford, while Partners at our Aylesford Distribution Centre and Bracknell head office will vote on charities.


Employee volunteering
We encourage all our Partners to participate in employee volunteering programmes. Our Partners give their time and skills, making a real and genuine difference to local people's lives, actively forge links with and become involved in the local communities where they live and work. But employee volunteering doesn't just provide an opportunity to give something back to the local community, reinforcing our commitment to being a responsible retailer. Partners can also develop new skills and benefit from increased confidence and motivation.

A key component of our employee volunteering programme is the Golden Jubilee Trust (GJT), which enables any Partner to volunteer for a part- or full-time secondment with a UK registered charity for up to six months.

The GJT matches Partners' abilities and experience with the needs of the charities being supported, creating strong links with the community and providing the charities with the valuable resources they need. Since it was set up in 2000, the GJT has supported 331 Partners across the Partnership, who have given over 136,000 hours to over 300 charities. In 2007, the Board of Trustees made awards to 12Waitrose Partners who donated 4,221 hours through the Trust, up from 3,944 in 2006, and a further nine Waitrose Partners received awards in spring 2008.

The Trust's primary goal is to benefit the charities it supports and, through these, the wider community. However, we also recognise the significant benefits participation brings to both participants and the business, such as the chance to develop new professional or personal skills, or to strengthen our standing in the local community.

In 2008, the Golden Jubilee Trust was reaccredited by BITC and received its third 'Big Tick' Award for Excellence.

"When I learnt about Tools for Self-Reliance, a charity that refurbishes unwanted hand tools and sends them to community projects in Africa, I thought it wasn't for me. However, with 60 groups of volunteers spread around the country, I was able to use my computer skills to help them to improve communication and raise their profile. The highlight of my involvement was a trip to Uganda, which I did in my own time. It put into perspective everything I'd been doing on my secondment."
Grant Williams Assistant Project Manager, E-commerce, Waitrose head office, Bracknell