Raj and Manish Suchak, of Coldean Convenience in Brighton, and Natalie Lightfoot, of Londis Solo Convenience Store in Glasgow, have been crowned as Allwyn’s national winners at its Local Retail Champions awards event.
Both retailers have been awarded £5,000 cash and a store makeover worth up to £20,000.
The Suchaks were selected for a their community-focused work, including creating a safe space for those who need it, donating generously to local food banks, and providing all the food for a local school’s breakfast club and fundraising for the local cat shelter.
Meanwhile, Lightfoot took home the national prize for going that extra mile for their community, including organising charity fundraising events and local litter-picking activities, and providing a home delivery service for those who need it.
Allwyn also selected 16 regional retailers as winners, and they will win £5,000 in cash, as well as 102 runners-up.
Manish Suchak said: “To know that our wonderful customers voted for us gives us tremendous pleasure. It’s a very supportive community in general, so anything we’re doing is just repaying that kindness. I’m now giving some thought to how we can spend the store makeover money, it’s such a lovely thing to be able to spend £20,000 to benefit my customers.”
Lightfoot said: “I’m so proud of my shop, I joke that it’s my fourth child. It’s lovely when other people recognise something you’re so passionate about.”
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Allwyn’s director of commercial partnerships and retail sales, Alison Acquaye-Acford, said, “Congratulations to all of our Local Retail Champions winners. You’re all doing such incredible work in your local communities and, as National Lottery retailers, we’re delighted to be able to recognise and reward you for this.
“National Lottery retailers already do so much for communities around the UK simply by selling lottery tickets that help fund Good Causes to the tune of around £30m each week. So our Local Retail Champions really are doubling up on efforts to help their communities with the work they’ve been nominated and awarded for through this initiative. Thank you for all your wonderful work.”
The Local Retail Champions initiative is being paid for with money from Allwyn’s dedicated Social Value Fund, which is an annual £1m that the company has committed to using to support operating The National Lottery in an environmentally and socially responsible way. This year, Allwyn is using a portion of the fund to reward and recognise the important role its retail partners play in every community across the UK and Isle of Man.
The full list of 16 regional winners include:
- Cults Stores, Keystore, Aberdeen – Louise and Christopher Cobb
- Carl’s Convenience Store, Oldbury – Kuldeep Singh
- McKees Convenience Store, Belfast – Gerard McKee
- TJ’s Late Shop, Hemel Hempstead – George Phillips
- Angel Supermarket, Ilford –Thangarajah Kuganeswaran
- Stevenston Post Office, North Ayshire – Robin Bawa
- Llanfair Village Shop, Llanfairtalhaiarn – Deborah Gale
- One Stop, Carlton Convenience, Manchester – Priyesh Vekaria
- Westerhope Convenience Store, Newcastle – Sheraz Awan
- Tidings Newsagents, Norfolk – Gail Watling
- Tenby Stores, Tenby – Vince and Fiona Malone
- Halai General Store (Best One), London – Dhanji N Halai
- Londis Gerrards Cross – Harjit Singh
- Trinity Food and Wine, Basildon – Agnelo and Maria Desousa
- Woosnam & Davies News, Llanidloes – Trudy Davies
- Jules Convenience, Telford – Julie Kaur
One retailer, Sheraz Awan, of Westerhope Convenience Store, Newcastle, managed to take away four awards in one day: one from Allwyn, and three from Newcastle City Council.
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