Mayor of Northampton celebrates charity partnership

The official charity of the Mayor of Northampton, The Lewis Foundation provides free gifts and support packs to adult cancer patients in hospital. Sol Retail started working alongside The Lewis Foundation back in 2018 after a chance meeting with charity co-founder, Lee Lewis, in a local supermarket.

Since then, the relationship has gone from strength-to-strength. The business has donated thousands of pounds worth of products to the charity for use in patient gift bags and Barry was instrumental in launching the Surplus Stock Appeal alongside The Lewis Foundation. This initiative encourages businesses to donate surplus or discontinued stock, helping them to be more sustainable whilst providing valuable resources to charity.

Barry Tong, founder and CEO of Sol Retail, comments: “I was so very proud to receive this certificate of appreciation from the Mayor on behalf of Sol Retail. Supporting The Lewis Foundation is part of our business DNA, it’s just something we do so it’s easy to forget that we are actually making a real difference to the fantastic work that the charity does each and every day. We’re delighted to have been part of The Lewis Foundation’s growth so far and look forward to working alongside the team for years to come!”

Lorraine Lewis, co-founder and CEO of The Lewis Foundation, said: “Barry and the team at Sol Retail never fail to amaze us with their unwavering support, not just with product donations but with advice, ideas and time too. On a daily basis, we see the difference that Sol Retail has made to The Lewis Foundation, enabling us to help and support more cancer patients across the county, so to have this recognised by the Mayor and Mayoress of Northampton was wonderful.”

Councillor Paul Joyce, Mayor of Northampton, said: “I’d heard from Lee and Lorraine just what an impact Sol Retail has had on the charity so I was delighted to have the opportunity to say a personal thank-you to Barry for the business’s contribution to the work of The Lewis Foundation over the years. Sol Retail is a shining example of how businesses can work alongside charities, helping to make a real difference to the communities in which we all live and work and it was my pleasure to give Sol Retail the official recognition it most certainly deserves.”