Gordon Dart from Reading Cygnets, left, Darlene Paulden from Cloud riding for the disabled, and Anthony Oke from Sonning Hockey Club, are joined by John Lewis managing director Gordon Stenton, right
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Local groups benefit from John Lewis community scheme
By David MillwardMay 16, 2012
Three community groups will share products and voluntary help worth £3,000 every three months after John Lewis Reading took up the Community Matters scheme.
The scheme, which has operated in Waitrose stores for years, allows customers to select the cause they prefer by placing a token in one of three slots. The help is then shared between the groups proportionally to the tokens they receive.
Gordon Stenton, managing director of John Lewis Reading, said: “We receive a lot of requests for help, but not every organisation needs financial support. By offering community organisations the option to receive our support as either volunteering time or as products, we can be more flexible in the help we offer.
“If a charity wants volunteers to redecorate a community centre, or if they need furniture and sports equipment, we can offer that help.”
Customers in the store’s restaurant The Place to Eat will be given one token per transaction to post in the box of their choice. The first to receive support will be Reading Cygnets swimming club for the mentally handicapped, Cloud Stables Riding for the Disabled and Sonning Hockey Club Colts.
