Staff members at the Marks & Spencer Deepdale Preston store have selected homelessness charity Emmaus Preston as their upcoming charity of the year.
Each year M&S stores vote for one charity to support through fundraising that’s important to its colleagues, customers and local community. The M&S Deepdale store has nominated Emmaus Preston, a charity that provides a home, work and personal support to people who have experienced homelessness.
Michael Heath, Store Manager at M&S Deepdale Preston, said: “Some of our staff used their charity days to go and work alongside and coach the Emmaus team on giving great customer service. Following on from this the team felt so inspired by the people who work and volunteer for Emmaus, that they decided it would be the charity they wanted to support as a store for the year 2019/2020.
“Over the past few years the store has supported local charities, St Catherine’s Hospice being our current charity. We are all very excited about our partnership with Emmaus and look forward to supporting both financially and in the workplace.”
The M&S charity of the year partnership will involve staff using their paid charity days to help in the local Emmaus stores, fundraising by the staff in store and helping with events and supporting with any training needs from a retail prospective.
Emmaus Preston supports formerly homeless people by providing a home and meaningful work in a community setting. The charity operates three large social enterprises in the city, providing valuable work opportunities whilst generating an income to help sustain the support offered by Emmaus Preston.
Stephen Buchanan, Director of Emmaus Preston, said: “Our Emmaus Preston community members are over the moon to have been chose by our local M&S store as their charity of the year. We’re looking forward to the partnership that will hopefully see an exciting programme of fundraising and awareness raising events throughout the year.”
To find out more and support Emmaus Preston head to www.emmaus.org.uk/preston. If you would like to get involved or donate an item, please call 01772 796622 or visit the Emmaus Preston Megastore on Brookfield Street or stores at Fishergate and Deepdale Mill Street.