Tills ringing for local charities

5:00pm Tuesday 19th August 2008

CHARITY is starting at the checkouts in Wallingford under a new scheme organised by Waitrose - and shoppers have the chance to choose the charities to benefit.

Waitrose is giving £1,000 a month to local organisations.

This month's chosen charities are Wallingford Toy Library, Wallingford BunkFest folk music singing and dancing festival, and Style Acre, the local charity which provides support for adults with learning difficulties.

In future, customers will get a big say in who gets the money.

Shoppers will receive green tokens, which they can place into one of three labelled boxes giving details of the work of the chosen charities. The largest amount goes to the charity with the highest number of votes. Shoppers can also nominate other causes by filling in a leaflet at the welcome desk.

Sarah Heaps, customer services department manager at Wallingford, said: "This is a fantastic initiative which could make a huge difference to a lot of people in this area."

Regular Waitrose shopper Jean Norman, 43, from Reading Road, said: "It's a good idea which will benefit local good causes and it's good of Waitrose to do it - but sometimes I just wish they had a bit more charity for their customers and brought their prices down!

"It's our only supermarket in Wallingford and budgets are getting more than a bit stretched now."

Maureen Robertson, 54, from Wantage Road, said: "It's good that people can come up with their own suggestions for where the money should go: I will certainly do so."

John Hibbert, 38, busy shopping with his two children, said: "The first three nominations are good and I just hope that people will enter the spirit of the thing and nominate causes which really need the extra funds."