Northampton Waitrose donates £500 to The Lewis Foundation through their 'Give A Little Love' scheme

Waitrose’s Kingsthorpe manager called the cancer charity’s work ‘fantastic’
Pictured: Lorraine and Lee Lewis collecting the donation from Waitrose KingsthorpePictured: Lorraine and Lee Lewis collecting the donation from Waitrose Kingsthorpe
Pictured: Lorraine and Lee Lewis collecting the donation from Waitrose Kingsthorpe

A Waitrose in Northampton has donated £500 to The Lewis Foundation through their 'Give A Little Love' scheme.

The money, which was given by Waitrose’s Kingsthorpe branch as part of their “Community Matters - Give A Little Love Scheme”, will support the foundation in its primary goal of giving free gift baskets to adult cancer patients in hospital.

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The Lewis Foundation currently serves 15 hospitals, including both Northampton and Kettering General Hospitals, to which they donate essential items, as well as other gifts to make cancer patients’ stays that bit more comfortable.

David Potter, branch manager for Waitrose Kingsthorpe said: “This is a fantastic charity doing incredible, local work. Its care packages reach people who really need them, and we're absolutely delighted to show our support.

"Thank you to all our customers and partners who've made this possible.”

The foundation has had an ongoing relationship with Waitrose, Kingsthorpe which started when they reached out during the pandemic in May 2020.

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Initially supporting them with donations of products, their contributions have since grown into sums of money which are used to fund other elements of the charity.

Lorraine Lewis, co-founder and CEO of the Lewis Foundation, said: "It means so much to us, especially for a reputable store such as Waitrose to continually support us in this way.

"It is thanks to the kindness, enthusiasm and dedication of corporate partners like Waitrose that we are able to make such a difference to adult cancer patients. They help us provide more comfort, happiness and free gifts to cancer patients in hospitals across the Midlands and we are incredibly grateful.

"We’re astounded by the sheer generosity of local businesses big and small who support our charity. There are many ways they can get involved with The Lewis Foundation, and our corporate partnership opportunities are always about genuine collaboration.

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"We are always open to ideas but some of the ways other companies support us include funding our gift packs, donating products or even hosting a fundraising event.

"Every offer of help is gratefully received and helps us bring thousands more smiles to individuals who might be feeling frightened and lonely as they receive cancer treatment.”

While some charities in Northamptonshire have started to feel the bite of the ongoing cost of living crisis, the founder said her charity has been relatively unscathed so far, thanks to strong support from local people.

Lorraine said: "We have been lucky as a charity not to have been affected so far by the cost of living crisis, and we think it is because our work resonates with so many people on so many levels. We all know someone who has been affected by cancer, and many of our supporters are cancer patients themselves who have benefited from our free gifts.

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"People still feel inspired to support us because of this very reason, but we never take that support for granted. We are very thankful.”

To learn more about the work of the Lewis Foundation, you can read about them on their website.