SPAR donates £20,000 to causes throughout the South West

Appleby Westward, which owns or manages all SPAR stores in the South West, has announced its successful Community Cashback recipients, who have been recognised for their exceptional contributions to their local communities.

Woodlanders Pre-School in Ashburton has been awarded the highest grant of £10,000, which it plans to put towards repairing the building’s roof.

The pre-school supports 80 families in the surrounding area. It can now plan essential work in the coming summer months, without which the building would become unusable.

Sally Down, head of Woodlanders Pre School, said: “The Community Cashback scheme was just such an amazing opportunity for us to get some money towards our roof that we so desperately needed. Thank you SPAR for enabling us to keep the building open for us all to use.”

The contribution is part of SPAR’s national Community Cashback initiative, which encourages communities with a SPAR store to nominate groups in local areas that have positively impacted the neighbourhood and need financial support.

The pre-school received the cheque from Appleby Westward’s head of marketing Nick Vivian, who said: “Repairing the roof will help people not just for today but for generations to come. We are immensely proud to be able to present Woodlanders with this cheque and look forward to hearing about the progress in the school.”

Several other successful organisations and groups also secured a contribution from SPAR, varying from £5,000 to £1,000, to put towards worthy causes.

Devon’s leading reuse centre Proper Job was successfully nominated by SPAR Chagford and was given £5,000. The charity currently repurposes and resells unwanted donations, and also offers workshops, training and events to encourage and educate about the joys of reclaiming and recycling.

St Michael’s Community Cafe in Salisbury, which also runs a ‘take-what-you-need’ food bank, received £2,000. Prama Life in Poole, a group that supports older people and carers across Dorset, received £1,000, as did Sparkle Lodge childcare in Portsmouth, and Landulph pre-school in Cargreen, Cornwall.

The scheme is part of SPAR’s greater efforts to bring its customers together. For more information on this, and the other ‘Nurture Our Neighbours’ initiatives, visit: https://www.spar.co.uk/being-spar