The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre receiving the majority of the vote (48%) will receive a donation from John Lewis at home Tunbridge Wells of £1,440. The money will help to ensure that the centre can continue to offer free care to its users.
Service by Emrgency Rider Volunteers (SERV) Kent, received 30% of the vote and will use its £900 donation from John Lewis to help fund the purchase of a 4x4 vehicle to add to its fleet of bikes, enabling the charity to help people during the winter months.
Finally, the National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease (NACC) Kent, which offers support for local sufferers of Crohn's Disease and Ulcerated Colitis will use its £690 donation (23% of the vote) to help offer a support network to over 600 sufferers in the Kent area.
Gabby Armstrong, branch manager at John Lewis at home Tunbridge Wells, said: “We are delighted with the customer response to our Community Matters scheme. It’s always exciting for us to see how the vote has been split and to make the donations to these very worthwhile community groups which we know have a really positive impact on our local community.”
The retailer has also announced the next three community groups set to benefit from the scheme over the next three months - Compaid, Argos Hill Windmill Trust and The MS Society.
Compaid provides a range of services, from computer skills training to accessible transport, to disabled people in and around West Kent. The money raised will help Compaid support more disabled people at its specialist training centre in Paddock Wood.
Argos Hill Windmill Trust are restoring this beautiful landmark into an important and useful educational resource and an example of our agricultural heritage. The donation will be used for urgent repairs, required to stabilise the structure and protect the near-complete unique internal features.
The MS Society offers help for people with this disabling and incurable condition. The donation will be used by the MS Society Tunbridge Wells, which offers help in coming to terms with the diagnosis; provides practical help and funds respite care and enhancing social and family life.
Gabby continued: “We are pleased to announce the next three community groups we have chosen to support and glad that we can continue to do our part to help good causes in the region.”
Organisations wanting to take part in Community Matters should visit John Lewis at home Tunbridge Wells to pick up a nomination form. Community Matters involves the retailer pledging a donation of £3,000 every three months to be split between the three nominated community groups.
Notes to Editors:
The John Lewis Partnership - The John Lewis Partnership operates 37 John Lewis shops across the UK (29 department stores and eight John Lewis at home), johnlewis.com and 277 Waitrose supermarkets. The business has an annual turnover of nearly £8.7bn. It is the UK's largest example of worker co-ownership where all 81,000 staff are Partners in the business.
John Lewis - John Lewis, ‘Britain's favourite electricals retailer 2012'* and 'Best Multichannel Retailer 2011' **, typically stocks more than 350,000 separate lines in its department stores. The website stocks over 200,000 products focused on the best of fashion, beauty, home and giftware and electrical items including online exclusives. johnlewis.com is consistently ranked one of the top online shopping destinations in the UK (www.johnlewis.com ). John Lewis Insurance offers a range of comprehensive insurance products - home, car, wedding and event, travel and pet insurance and life cover - delivering the usual values of expertise, trust and customer service expected from the John Lewis brand.
John Lewis is proud to be the official department store provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
John Lewis and London 2012 - As part of this partnership with LOCOG (The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) John Lewis operates official London 2012 shops within all its department stores. John Lewis is helping to furnish lounge and reception areas at key Games-time venues as well as offering Partners (staff) the opportunity to support LOCOG in the operation and build-up to the Games. Further to the sponsorship with LOCOG, John Lewis Partnership has developed 'Partners in Sport' an initiative to put something back into the community through sport which includes sponsoring several London 2012 hopefuls as well as funding sports coaches.
* Verdict Consumer Satisfaction Index, April 2012
** Ecommerce Awards for Excellence 2011
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