EUROSPAR Gives Community Superheroes £500 Boost

Two charities that operate locally in Derry City and Moy have each been awarded £500 by EUROSPAR to continue the fantastic work of their organisations.

The prizes were awarded at EUROSPAR stores in Hatfield and on the Moy Road, after the groups were nominated online as part of the brand’s campaign to find and celebrate ‘Community Superheroes’.

There was an overwhelming response to the campaign, with over 1,000 entries submitted from all over Northern Ireland.

Entries submitted on behalf of HURT – Have Your Tomorrows, and the National Autistic Society, Dungannon branch, were chosen from over 1,000 online and postal submissions. The determination of the leaders and volunteers within both organisations to succeed despite facing many obstacles was evident to the judging panel, who were overwhelmed by the standard of entries.

Sadie O’Reilly, founder and project co-ordinator at HURT, accepted the prize on behalf of the organisation and said, “I founded the organisation HURT – Have Your Tomorrows after the death of my only son, Tony. This was over 17 years ago and was at a time when there was no dedicated addiction support in our area. We’ve grown over the years and now deliver a wide range of training, and also offer services such as acupuncture in the centre. Recent funding cuts have meant that we’re more reliant on support from donations so I’d like to thank EUROSPAR for this opportunity, the money will go a really long way.”

Speaking on behalf of the National Autistic Society, Daphne Scott, Dungannon branch chairperson said, “I’m absolutely overjoyed and would like to say a huge thank you to EUROSPAR on behalf of everyone at NAS Dungannon. We are so grateful to Keara Quinn, whose family have been involved with our centre for a number of years, for nominating us. The £500 prize will be signposted towards our ‘Project Sensory Kit’, which had previously been put on hold due to funding issues. It’s a great feeling knowing that this project is now going to be available for all our children to participate in and that they’ll be able to create a kit that’s unique to their individual needs and that helps regulate sensory overload.”

The competition was the latest activity undertaken by EUROSPAR to support the brand’s ‘Your Community Supermarket’ campaign. This campaign focuses on stores transforming the traditional shopper perception of a convenience supermarket and becoming a hub for the local community, that actively supports the causes close to the hearts of shoppers.

Jade Manning, EUROSPAR Brand Manager, commented on the success of the competition saying, “On behalf of EUROSPAR, I am delighted to present each of these charities with £500 to continue the amazing work they carry out in their local communities. The EUROSPAR Community Superhero initiative seeks to celebrate individuals and organisations that work tirelessly to improve the lives of people around them in a variety of different ways, and this is exactly what HURT and NAS do. I’d also like to thank everyone that took the time to enter. To be given this insight into the outstanding work our shoppers do in aid of their local communities is very humbling.”