Waitrose parent company the John Lewis Partnership is donating over £1m to charities tackling loneliness this Christmas.
John Lewis and Waitrose stores across the UK will be provided a with budget and partners at each shop will decide how it can best benefit their local community, either in the form of products or cash.
The ‘Connections at Christmas’ donations will benefit hundreds of local charities supporting thousands of elderly, homeless and young people.
John Lewis Partnership lead on social impact and health Lindsay Crompton said: “We don’t want anyone to miss out on time with others at Christmas. Feeling isolated or excluded at any time of year takes its toll mentally but Christmas is when it’s at its harshest.
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“Partners who work in our shops are passionate about supporting people in their communities all year round but particularly want to make a real difference to many people’s Christmas experience.”
Some London Waitrose stores and John Lewis Oxford Street will be donating their funds to The Felix Project, which helps to combat child hunger across the capital.
These donations will help families in need have Christmas lunch together and enable school children in London to eat nutritious meals.
In the New Year, partners from London Waitrose shops will also volunteer at The Felix Project’s food prep kitchens.
Other stores have donated to charities including Together Dementia Support and The Brunswick Club for Young People.
This comes as Waitrose relaunched its ‘Giving Trees’ initiative to raise donations for the Partnership’s ‘Building Happier Futures’ programme.
The in-store feature allows customers to give back to the community by picking up a gift tag and taking it to the checkout to donate a desired amount.
