A Day in the Life - Tesco Community Champion
Article written by: Laura Pearson
Mandy Raine has worked at Tesco Duloch for 25 years, since it opened in 2000. When Tesco created Community Champion roles, her manager encouraged her to apply. A Community Champion is a staff member who cares passionately about their local community and the role that Tesco can play in supporting it. Mandy loved her job on the customer service desk and wasn't sure about moving. She agreed to put in an application and if successful she'd give the job six months. Sixteen years later, she's still Community Champion and couldn't be happier with her job.
Mandy usually starts her day by checking the emails that come into the community inbox. She receives a wide range of enquiries and requests from many different groups and organisations. Sometimes they ask for donations, such as raffle prizes or selection boxes. There are also enquiries about the Blue Token scheme and holding an awareness stall within the store. She gets so many requests for bag packing fundraising that she has had to create a randomised prize draw system for picking which organisation will get the opportunity each month!
“The hardest part of this job is not being able to give financial support to everyone who makes contact with me. I have a limited budget for the year so I have to try to spread that out to benefit as many people and groups as possible.”
She makes contact with the groups to find out more or to arrange to meet. Often this results in a visit to the group, and this is a part of the job that Mandy loves: finding out about all the good work done by the wide variety of groups in the area.
“I can be at a school one day, doing smoothie making, then the next day I’m at the Rotary group talking about my role and the support I can offer. Talks like that usually result in lots of emails from people looking for support for their group.”
There’s no doubt Mandy is kept very busy but she tells me “I do love coming to work, no two days are the same and I love the variety.”
If your community group is interested in getting support from Mandy, her top tips are:
Don’t be shy about asking, if Mandy and Tesco can help you they will.
Get in touch in plenty of time (at least a month before) if you need items for a particular event.
Try to include as much information as you can in your initial email.
You can make contact with Mandy on 2397@uk.tesco.com or 07934 220181.
