Asda donates surprise £4,000 to Wakefield church centre

The store’s community champion Lisa Staggs secured £500 to fund the food bank’s Christmas party - where she surprised staff and visitors by handing over an extra £4,000 to help develop the group’s services. The money came from the Asda Christmas community campaign.

Supported by grants from the Asda Foundation, the campaign helped spread festive cheer in local communities throughout December, by funding Christmas parties for those who needed a little extra support over the festive season.

Lisa Staggs, community Champion for Asda Wakefield, said: “St Catherine’s Church Centre is absolutely brilliant – real local heroes who do so much within the Wakefield community. It’s a privilege to be able to bring some Christmas joy to the people in our community who deserve it most at this special time of the year.

“The group has a large emergency food provision which runs out of the centre. To date, they have provided an incredible 3,000 food parcels to people from all corners of the community, including local working families and the homeless.”

Lisa Grant, centre manager at St Catherine’s, added: “The extra donation was such a surprise and we’re so delighted to receive such support. When Lisa gave us the cheque I couldn’t control my emotions, it meant so much and went such a long way with everyone at the centre. For the first time in a while, we have no concerns about where the funding for the New Year will come from, it’s a great feeling and I can’t thank Lisa and her colleagues enough for all their support.”