Waitrose & Partners Community Matters
We support good causes. You decide who gets what.
By placing a token in the Community Matters box at your local branch you’re helping your community. Since its launch in 2008, the scheme has donated over £30 million to good causes in store and online
At the end of your shop in branch, you’ll receive a token to place in a box of the good cause you’d most like to support. The more tokens a cause gets, the bigger the donation they receive. Each month every Waitrose & Partners branch donates £1,000 (£500 in Convenience shops) between 3 local good causes that you choose.
Online, Waitrose.com also shares a donation of £25,000 between 3 national causes. After checkout, you will be asked to vote for one of the national causes we are supporting. Each cause will receive a share according to the number of votes - just as we do in our branches.
Our short video explains how you have the power to make a difference, and the easiest way to get involved.
Find out more about our partner volunteering>
National causes we are currently supporting on Waitrose.com
Dreams Come True
Prostate Cancer UK
Independent Age
Dreams Come True
Everyday life for a person living with a serious illness can be immensely difficult. They may have to struggle with pain, limited independence and most of the time endless hospital visits. A dream provides hope, everlasting memories and something extra special to look forward to and we need your help to fulfil more dreams.
Theo was born with Down’s syndrome and a heart condition and in 2016 he was also diagnosed with Leukaemia. He had to spend a lot of time in hospital so Theo’s Mum said he would love a break at Center Parcs where he could spend time outside with the people he loves. Theo’s parents said:
“We wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone at Dreams Come True and to all those who generously donated. Our very brave son had a fantastic time, he absolutely loved every minute. His face was alight with joy as he revelled in all the new experiences! After having spent a long time in hospital, having had heart surgery and 5 months of chemotherapy, this was a wonderful treat for Theo and so marvellous for us to see how far he had come. Seeing our son run around and splash about looking so well, provided so many treasured memories for us as his parents too.”
More than 50,000 children access palliative care in the UK each year and with your support we can help many more children like Theo get a life changing dream. Thank you.
Prostate Cancer UK
Lloyd was just 43 when he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. Lloyd thought prostate cancer was something that affected much older men. Like many men, he didn’t have any classic symptoms, he felt fit, healthy and with no family history. After a terminal diagnosis, Lloyd feels that you shouldn’t take anything for granted and tries to share that outlook with others. He said he’s very lucky that at 45 he has ‘wonderful kids’ and ‘a wife that loves me’ and all of that ‘puts life into perspective.’
We’re here for men and their families like Lloyd. We have a simple ambition - to stop men dying from prostate cancer. With one man dying every 45 minutes, your support can continue to fund ground-breaking research that will change the future for men and their families, through better diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Meaning generations to come, need not fear prostate cancer.
We also support men like Lloyd and their loved ones through our Specialist Nurse Service. A cancer diagnosis is life changing and frightening. Our specialist nurses are trained oncology and urology nurses. They support men and their families, providing information and much-needed time, that other medical practitioners are rarely able to offer.
We support men on their journey from diagnosis, treatment and surgery to after care, providing peer to peer support and valuable health materials. But, most recently, we’ve found that the majority of people who contact our nurses needed emotional support. Our nurses are a lifeline to so many.
Your vote would mean we can support more men and their families through their difficult journeys. And to increase your donation to us, a very generous, anonymous, donor has offered to double every pound raised specifically for the Specialist Nurse Service.
Together, we can stop prostate cancer being a killer.
Independent Age
“Loneliness is hell on earth. My wife died six years ago. My friends have passed away. I’ve only been out twice in the past 12 months. I find that Sundays are the loneliest. I was looking for somebody to chat to and I saw an article in the local paper about Independent Age. Now, every Tuesday morning, Richard phones me. It makes such a difference.”
Friendships make us happy. Research shows that those who spend time with family and friends tend to feel better about life than those who don’t.
But as we age, we tend to find our social circle shrinks. Partners die, neighbours move away, health issues leave us feeling cut off from the world… Before we know it, we’re spending more and more time alone.
Surveys show that more than a million older people say they are chronically lonely. This is not just miserable and frightening, it can also have a devastating impact on their physical and mental health.
At Independent Age, we believe in the power of a good chat. Our free Friendship Services give older people the chance to receive a regular call or visit from one of our wonderful volunteers and, over time, form a genuine, trusting bond.
We also offer advice, information and support on financial security and health and wellbeing, and we campaign to ensure people can enjoy a financially secure, healthy, active and connected older age.
“I don’t have the chance to speak to many people. Recently a dear friend of mine sadly passed away and another one is unwell so I spend a lot of time on my own. To some people, weekly phone calls may not seem like much. To me, they’re priceless.”
Support Independent Age and help make the UK a better place to grow older.
Community Matters results
To see the results and amounts that we have donated to previous charities click here
Contact us
If you are a UK-registered national charity and would like to be considered for our Community Matters Online initiative then please post your applications on headed paper for consideration to:
Waitrose & Partners Community Matters Team
Waitrose & Partners
Doncastle Road
Bracknell
Berkshire
RG12 8YA
Please give a brief outline of the work your charity does along with details of any current projects that you are seeking funding for. This should be no more than one side of A4. The Community Matters Team will then only contact you if your application is successful or if they require further details.
If you are a local charity or not for profit organisation and you would like to be considered for Community Matters in one of our branches, please go to your local branch, complete a nomination form and hand it in at the Welcome Desk. If you are successful the branch Community Matters Champion will be in touch. All applications are held for 6 months.