Huntly supermarket donates £13.5k to community
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ASDA Huntly surprised Gordon Rural Action with a donation of £13,500 from the Asda Foundation to go towards the redevelopment of a community space.
The grant is part of the Asda Foundation’s investment of £750k in 60 local community groups and charities across the UK, with the aim of transforming community spaces and places, after customers said the cost-of-living crisis has impacted their social and community interaction.
Gordon Rural Action (GRA) is a local charity working to improve the quality of life for individuals in the community through the provision of a high quality, professional and focused advice and support service. The funding will be used to fix various structural problems in its current building which is over 50 years old. It will also ensure the building is wind and watertight so they can continue to provide essential services for the community.
Over 60 Spaces and Places grants ranging from £5,000 to £25,000, have been awarded across the UK by the Asda Foundation, and Gordon Rural Action was one of the successful applications to receive funding.
Laura McNeill, fundraiser at GRA, said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive a grant from Asda Foundation. We are a small team and this fills us with excitement at the prospect of being able to do more for our community.
“The funding will enable us to provide staff and volunteers with a safe work environment. We’ll also be able to continue to run our charity shop and raise funds for our advice and support hub that helped over 2,000 people last year.
“We’ve seen a 100% increase in people accessing our services this year due to the cost-of-living crisis. This includes a huge increase in demand for our uniform exchange and baby bank, offering free items for children and helping families reduce their outgoings during a tough time.
“We would like to thank Asda for the incredible support. Michelle, the community champion is always so helpful and willing to support us when we need it.”
Michelle Gunn, community champion at Asda Huntly, said: “I am so pleased that we have secured this donation for Gordon Rural Action. The organisation works hard to support food banks, baby banks, uniform banks and its latest initiative, to provide education for children who don’t attend school. The volunteers are lovely, and it is great to see their enthusiasm about the building being transformed.
“Organisations such as them are very important because they provide a space within the community to bring people together. They also provide a befriending service, offering weekly phone calls for those who may need it. I am very excited to develop our partnership and look forward to seeing the space come to life.”
