OKEHAMPTON Waitrose has reached a milestone figure with its Community Matters scheme, having donated a total of £100,000 to local causes since the scheme began in 2008.

Since the launch of the initiative, Waitrose Okehampton has supported local causes such as Okehampton Otters, Age Concern and the Ockment River Improvement Group, along with numerous others.

As one of over 190 Waitrose branches to achieve this total, Waitrose Okehampton has contributed to the £28-million donated by the supermarket as a whole, supporting 84,000 causes.

Community Matters was launched nine years ago, and every month each Waitrose store donates £1,000 to three local charities.

Customers vote for the share each charity receives using green tokens and can nominate causes to benefit from the donations. In addition to this, online customers choose between three national charities, to which Waitrose donates a further £100,000 a year.

This year marks the fifth anniversary since the scheme went online which means a further £500,000 has been donated so far to 60 national charities.

Mike Bestwick, branch manager at Waitrose Okehampton says: ‘The green token might seem like a small gesture for our customers but they’ve helped us give £100,000 to hundreds of fantastic causes in the local area. The Community Matters scheme is a great way for us to get involved with the community, supporting causes which are important to both our employees and our customers and we’re really pleased to have reached this milestone figure.’

Waitrose Okehampton is always on the lookout for local organisations and good causes to join the scheme. To nominate a group, complete a Community Matters form available at the Welcome Desk.

For further information contact Community Matters champion Vickie Mills via her email communitymatters [email protected]