BAKKAVOR’S Spalding staff shop will have donated a record £65,000 to more than 20 charities and good causes by the end of this year.
The sum is £12,000 more than was raised last year.
Among those benefiting from cash windfalls are Cancer Research, Gedney and Dawsmere Royal British Legion, Sir John Gleed School, Butterfly Hospice, the Lincolnshire Free Press Children’s Fund and a host of sports clubs.
Employees from the Spalding factory and their families are in for a festive treat with the staff shop stumping up the cost of more than 500 tickets to the pantomime, Aladdin, over three nights at the town’s South Holland Centre.
Bakkavor has arranged a children’s party with a buffet and Father Christmas before the curtain goes up.
Staff shop committee chairman Terry Moore said: “As our employees play a vital role in making the business a success, this is just one of the ways to reward them for their ongoing commitment and hard work.”
Earlier this year Bakkavor’s charity committee treated staff to a day at the races in Newmarket. And, in January, there will be a subsidised train trip to London.
The fundraising goes on until the end of this year and the staff shop is raising money for Spalding’s Ivo Day Centre with big prizes in a raffle, including a plasma TV, sat nav and a laptop.
Bakkavor employees have donated a staggering £400,000 to good causes since the staff shop opened 13 years ago and, in 2008, they were invited to the Queen’s garden party at Buckingham Palace in recognition of their generous support for the community.
Staff shop manager Pat Baxter said: “It has been our aim to support our local community as much as we possibly can and it has been great that this year we have been able to donate over £65,000 to a number of different causes, particularly in a time when it is tough for everyone.”