Asda Boston employee receives award for outstanding work in the community

Asda Boston’s community champion, Stephen Bromby, has received an award for his outstanding work in the local community.

Stephen took home one of only 26 certificates to be issued by the supermarket chain across its UK stores, for the hard work and commitment he has shown in the local community.

An Asda spokesperson said: “Asda has been supporting communities for over 30 years and for the last 11 years the community champion role has been at the heart of the programme.

“Asda Community Champions usually spend their time out and about delivering practical support, listening to our communities’ needs, and working with local people to channel funding.”

Adele Bayfield-Knight, general store manager at the Lister Way store said: “From outreach programmes to grant giving, Stephen has tried to listen to needs of local groups. He has worked work tirelessly to support charities, projects and initiatives that make a real impact for local people. He has also built close relationships with local schools, working with teachers to promote healthy food and an active lifestyle, enthusing children about cooking and talking to them about protecting the environment.”

Stephen added: “We’ve always been proud to support our local community in a number of ways. Whether that’s by lending out space in our store to local groups to raise awareness of services available within the community, collect food for food banks or support fundraising for local charities - run fundraising events in our stores, through bag packing, bucket collections and by donating goods to fundraising events from our monthly budget for product donations to provide practical support to local charities.

“I also spend a lot of my time volunteering with local groups. Volunteering helps us to understand what’s important to our shoppers and sometimes, a helping hand is all that groups need to make our community a better place to live, work and grow up.

“My role also allows me to help groups access additional funding, acting as an ambassador of Asda’s charity, the Asda Foundation, and support groups through grants to fund their ambitions.

"There are a number of funding streams available and they include Under 18s Asda Better Starts Grants, Empowering Local Communities Grants, Cost Of Living Grants, and, Investing in Spaces and Places Grants. The next round of funding will open on May 22.

“I've had some great times during my 27 years with Asda. I've been to work in America as part of the Walmart Shareholders event, and I've met their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales. But nothing beats the feeling of local people recognising the Asda logo on my uniform and then proceeding to tell me about how we transformed their local village hall, delivered a lesson at their grandchild's school or gave an Asda Foundation grant to a local charity that's dear to their heart.

"It makes me immensely proud to have had the opportunity to make a difference to the community around my store.”