WATCH: Highland charity gets £10,000 support boost from SPAR Community Cashback scheme
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A HIGHLAND charity has been awarded a £10,000 grant from a supermarket chain's scheme to support their activities.
Fox & Friends, founded by Lisa Davidson with the aim to support people to learn and connect following the COVID lockdown, was awarded the money through SPAR's 2023 Community Cashback scheme, which provides funds to local voluntary or community organisations and charities.
Ms Davidson said: “As a new charity with such big ambitions our lack of space was beginning to hold us back and this fund has just removed that obstacle. We are now able to create a suitable space to work from and it will allow us to go ahead and purchase what we need to run the other services. The Community Cashback scheme is allowing us to thrive and grow with demand!
“We believe that it is now more important than ever for people to come together and build relationships in their communities and we are passionate about making that happen in any way we can.
"Everyone should have access to activities and support in their hometown, and no-one should feel alone or isolated in our little corner of the world. That's why our vision is to offer a variety of affordable services that bring people together in their community, to have fun, build relationships and seek support if they need it."
Fox & Friends' activities include Interactive Story Sessions, ASN Family Support Group, Clubs & Activities for Adults as well as events for communities based across the Highlands.
The SPAR Community Cashback campaign launched for a second year this April to give back to local communities that need support, and will have donated £100,000 across the UK on behalf of their shoppers.
This year, SPAR commissioned a study of 2,000 adults and discovered that 74 per cent of Scots have volunteered – with Scotland being first in the UK with people involved in local causes.
According to the study volunteers in Scotland spend 8.5 hours on average giving back each month, and 57 per cent would like to volunteer in 2023. A quarter (23 per cent) have also started to help others more this year, one of the highest regions in the country.
Julie Carr, senior marketing executive at CJ Lang – service providers to over 300 independent and company-owned SPAR stores throughout Scotland – commented: “It was great to meet Lisa and join one of her Fox and Friends sessions to see what our £10,000 donation will be spent on. It’s clear that Lisa puts in a lot of time and effort to support a large geographic area as well as a wide age range with her various group sessions. Our donation will allow Lisa to source storage and office space for the charity which will in turn allow her to continue to expand and support more people in the Highlands boosting the health and wellbeing of all those who attend.”
Suzanne Dover, brand and marketing director at SPAR said: “We believe in nurturing our neighbourhoods and supporting the communities we serve, and this scheme is another way we are helping to do this, especially now when deserving local organisations need some extra financial support.”
