Big retail brand to support three new charities
John Lewis in Exeter has announced the next three charities it will be supporting as part of its Community Matters Scheme.
It has been revealed the chosen charities selected by Partners are SOCOPS, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and Nightstop Devon.
SOCOPS (Social Opportunities) is a charity group created in 2005, by parents with children on the Autistic Spectrum.
They decided to set up a youth club in Exeter providing social opportunities for their children and others with the same condition as they felt the children were missing out.
It is now a registered charity since 2009, working with up to 30 families and is officially the Lord Mayor of Exeter’s Charity of the year.
ABF The Soldiers’ Charity is an organisation that gives support to serving soldiers, former soldiers and their families by providing financial assistance in times of need.
It was created for people who are affected by the conflicts of war, mentally and physically.
The Nightstop Devon is a group of volunteers who provide emergency overnight accommodation for young homeless people between the ages of 16 and 25.
Their aim is to prevent youth homelessness in Exeter, Teignbridge, East and Mid Devon by working with the young person and other agencies to find them longer term accommodation.
The department store will give the organisations a percentage of the £3,000 fund over a three-month period.
Customers will be given a green token when they make a purchase in John Lewis, to put in one of the charity containers near the exit.
Customers will be able to vote for which charity they would like to the fund to go to from 12th January 2013 as a way of showing their support.
When the period is over, the charities will be allocated a certain amount of money from the fund, depending on the amount of votes.
Kate Connock, the branch manager at John Lewis Exeter has expressed how the programme has received positive feedback from the community since the store first opened in October 2012.
The first three organisationss picked when the shop first opened were St, Petrock’s, FORCE Cancer Charity and Balloons.
Ms Connock has emphasised how important it is for her and her team to support local causes and to be part of the community, as well as looking forward to continuing their work into 2013.
