Hoping to give back and do their bit for local communities, Tesco Danestone staff gave up their free time last weekend to help clean up Aberdeen Beach.
Tesco Danestone manager Lucy Mercer said that after speaking to Mike Scotland who runs Community cleanUP, she and her team were inspired to take part in one of the organisation’s beach clean-up events.
She said: “He has a local hub and he spoke to us about doing a community clean-up and I thought it was a great idea.
“We wanted to get ourselves out there and give back to the city.”
Lucy said that “quite a lot “of her colleagues were interested and approximately 30 people – Tesco staff and their families – helped the manager pick up litter at Aberdeen Beach last Sunday.
She said: “The kids absolutely loved it – it created a great buzz.”
This was the first time Lucy and her team took part in community clean-ups, but the manager hopes to do something similar in the coming months.
She said: “We would like to do something again in the future – definitely in the summer when it’s warm.
“We’re up for doing more – it’s a great way of helping out the local environment.
“Everyone was absolutely buzzing after the clean-up. It definitely boosted the staff morale and they want to do it again. I think we really started something here.
“We were also blessed with beautiful weather.”
The team spent two hours picking up litter at Aberdeen Beach, collecting seven bags of rubbish.
Lucy said: “We were quite shocked by that. We thought the beach looked ok, but when we started, there were a lot of bits and pieces in the grass.”
While Lucy’s team hasn’t done a litter pick in the past, Tesco Danestone participates in other environmental community activities.
The Danestone store donates a wide range of items to a number of local charities including Aberdeen’s CFINE (Community Food Initiatives North East) which tackles poverty and also aims to improve health and well-being and the environment, and AberNecessities which supports vulnerable children and their families.
Lucy said: “Every single night, we donate waste food to charities who either cook the food or give it to people in need.
“At the moment, we have days that aren’t quite booked up, so if there are any local charities that could benefit from this, they should get in touch.
“They can go on a website called FareShare and they can apply to get a slot.”
FareShare is the UK’s national network of charitable food redistributors made up of 18 independent organisations. They redistribute surplus food to charities that turn it into meals.
Locals can also take advantage of Tesco Community Grants which support thousands of local community projects and good causes across the UK. The scheme is open to registered charities as well as not-for-profit organisations.
Tesco customers can vote for their favourite charity/ non-profit to receive a grant by putting a blue token – which they receive at checkout – in the Tesco Community Grants box.