We’ve been able to provide more brand new beds to children thanks to the support from Tesco Extra’s new Community Champion.
Katie Higgins joined Tesco Extra, in Hanley just over two months ago as a community champion, and after researching and visiting our charity shop in the Potteries Centre, Hanley, she was overwhelmed by the amount of work we do to support vulnerable families.
With Katie’s help a large Easter basket was donated and included in a fundraising raffle helping to raise more than £400 towards our ongoing Beds for Kids campaign.
Katie said: “Part of my role as a Community Champion is to build relationships including with local charities and when I spoke to staff at the Emmaus North Staffs shop I realised how much they do in the area and what a good cause it is so I am trying to support them as much as we can.
“They work so hard to try and end furniture poverty and their Beds for Kids campaign, which is helping to give brand new beds to local children is something so important.”
Tish Cooke, who works in our Potteries Centre shop, said “Katie has been amazing. When we told her about what the charity does she wanted to help straight away. We thank Katie and everyone who has supported us at Tesco Extra with the Easter basket, which was raffled off in the shop during Easter weekend. All monies raised will go towards our Beds for Kids campaign.
“We have also received a brand new barbecue set from Katie’s support, which we will be raffling off after that. The support means the world.”
Executive Lead of the charity, John Webbe, said: “Katie, staff and shoppers, at Tesco Extra in Hanley have been brilliant. We were hoping to raise as much as we could from the raffle so we can provide more bed kits to local children and now we can. We thank everyone who helped to make this happen at Tesco Extra and visitors to our charity shop.”
Our Beds for Kids campaign provides bed packs which include a brand new bed, mattress and bedding to children without their own. Each pack costs around £225.
Katie is looking to build on the relationship with us and will be looking to offer further support to us later in the year.
“We have already donated furniture items and other donations and we are now looking at more ways to find items to donate to help Emmaus North Staffs,” adds Katie.
“We will definitely be staying in touch and I will be connecting with more local charities and looking to see what we can to help others too.”
Our charity works to end furniture poverty and each year we provide assistance to 800 local households who are in need of furniture and appliances. Crucial to this work are our charity shop and emporium which are both open to the public six days a week. More details on our shops can be found here.