Sutton store shortlisted in Forecourt Trader Awards 2022
Sewell on the go’s Sutton store has been selected as a finalist in the Best Community Engagement category at this year’s Forecourt Trader Awards.
This award recognises the team’s commitment and dedication to our local community through all the engagement activities hosted every year. From social media campaigns, fun days, fundraising efforts, bespoke initiatives and special partnerships that truly make a difference to the communities in which we work, we do it because it’s the right thing to do… and we LOVE doing it.
With 13 forecourts across East Yorkshire, Sewell on the go is invested in its local community and year-on-year donates over £30,000 to 60+ local charities, schools and community groups.
But for us, it’s about much more than just handing over a cheque – we encourage our teams to get involved with their communities and offer five paid volunteering days each year. Over the last 18 months, our team wanted to do more to help deprived communities where many of our stores are based, so we looked for way to boost our partnership with local food banks.
Our annual ‘Big Local Harvest’ campaign introduced collection points throughout all our stores to encourage customers to donate items to support the food banks, with the promise that we’d match their donations.
To maximise the impact beyond our stores, we utilised our links with Hull KR and took food bank collections to rugby matches throughout the season. This not only helped generate much needed donations, but also helped raise awareness of the food bank for people who may need support.
The highly coveted ‘Hull derby’ was the perfect chance to leverage a sell-out crowd (over 10,000 people) and maximise exposure through the club’s channels. Our team of volunteers gave out goody bags and encouraged people to support by purchasing pre-packed parcels of varying value, or give cash donations.
An innovative approach to our digital campaign helped reach thousands of people online and raise awareness. A video featuring Hull KR stars and mascot, Rufus the Robin, helped promote the initiative.
Donations are still coming in, but the last three matches contributed over £3,000 to the local foodbank, supported by fans, ourselves and the rugby club. In total, we’ve donated over 4,000 items worth over £7,000 in the last 18 months.
Robbie Keane, founder of East Hull and Beannie Street Food Banks, said:
“The donations from this year’s Big Local Harvest will help so many families – it’s clear how dedicated Sewell on the go are when supporting their local communities.
“This generosity of the public never fails to amaze me; it will be life-changing for families, some of whom haven’t had food for a long time.”
Our food bank initiative is just one highlight of activities over the last year, which include lots of small donations, alongside our long-term partnerships:
• Hull Animal Welfare Trust > raising over £5,000 every year through collection boxes, clothes bins, events and fuel donation
• FitMums > our stores act as safe havens for local runners, and we’ve funded a new bereavement initiative to support local families
• Yorkshire Air Ambulance > £20,000 worth of clothing collected since 2014. Our colleague Allison also recently raised over £1,000 by doing a skydive
• Dove House Hospice > ongoing support, including a dedicated month of activity, team engagement in ‘It’s a Knock Out’ event raised over £3,000
• Hull 4 Heroes > £3,000 worth of fuel this year, food bank donations and customer collections
• Throughout the pandemic our teams supported their most vulnerable customers with door-to-door deliveries
