Badbury Park launches, Charity visits & GroceryAid Gold Award winners
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Published 20 Jan 2023 in Phil's blog
To start this week, I would say a big thank you to my guest blogger, Kathryn Lyddon while I was away. A great insight into Property and how it has progressed since you joined, if you missed it click here.
Society Investments begin in 2023 – Badbury Park in Swindon launches
With 2023 upon us, our Society Investments start with the Food store launch of Badbury Park in Swindon. At a cost of £520k, the brand-new store welcomes 15 new colleagues to Midcounties and becomes a great addition to the local area. Incorporating the latest energy efficient refrigeration as well as electric charge points for customers, the logistics have been brilliantly managed by our Property and Food teams from start to finish. A warm welcome to Store Manager, Harry Osbourne and the team. I look forward to visiting the store very soon.
Meeting charity partner Just Straight Talk
Late last year, I had the chance to visit our long-standing charity partner, Just Straight Talk based in Walsall. Meeting them as part of the large, multi-organisation 'Steps to work' program that's just come to an end, the project helped get people from the West Midlands back into work after experiencing difficulties in their lives.
I love seeing programs like this because you see a change in people when they have renewed confidence (and a glow) which is then used to re-enter the community as the best version of themselves. It was a great celebration with wonderful food including live Indian dancers and a band that invited everyone on stage to dance. We even saw some of the JST team learn some moves! Watch the video update below.
We are GroceryAid Gold Award winners!
I was delighted to hear earlier this week that the Society was awarded Gold in the GroceryAid awards for the second year running. This is a fantastic achievement which recognises our strong partnership with GroceryAid and we are proud to support the charity. With support provided across the entire retail industry, there is a wide range of services available to our colleagues and their families, including mental health support, face-to-face counselling, and financial grants. So, if you require it, there is support available for any colleague in need. To find out more, click here.
Everymind wellbeing webinar - Tuesday 24th January at 2pm
Also, next week sees the latest Everymind wellbeing webinar for all colleagues to join. A fantastic opportunity to improve Mental Health & wellbeing with advice and tips, this month’s topic is on ‘Managing Anxiety in Everyday Life’. You can join in by clicking here.
If you can’t make it, then access there is access to any of the previous webinars here.
Finally, this Sunday sees millions across the world celebrating Chinese New Year. My well wishes to any colleagues celebrating and all the best for the coming year!
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