Tesco Dungannon staff bring joy to Community Centre

STAFF from Tesco Superstore in Dungannon have been spreading some festive joy recently as they paid a visit to their old friends from the Willowbank Community Resource Centre, a local charity that has been promoting activities for people with disabilities for the past 30 years.

For the past six years, the Centre has been located right next to Tesco, allowing service users to conveniently visit the store to do their weekly shop and have a chat with the staff.

Sadly, when the Centre had to move back to its original premises on the other side of town, those weekly visits were sadly suspended.

Community Champion and Client Service Desk Assistant, Sharon Allen said, “They used to come in and chat to the staff at the tills and the customer service desk.

“We missed them and decided that if it was not possible for them to come to us, that we would pay them a visit.

“It felt wonderful to be able to do something for them and to see our friends again.

“We all had a lovely time and hope to visit them again soon.”

Sharon, with the help of checkout operators Andrea da Silva Pais and Michelle Taggart, brought tea and buns for an impromptu celebration at the Centre’s current premises.

They also promoted a free raffle and donated £150 from the store’s second-hand bookshelf collection.

Kathleen Lappin, the Daycare Manager at the Community Resource Centre said she was delighted to see Sharon and the Tesco colleagues and that it made them realise just how much of an impact the Centre users had on them.

She said, “Going to Tesco was an independent living experience for them as users generally are not able to go shopping on their own.

“They learned how to budget, got Clubcards, were able to shop for their own clothes and even used the self-checkout.

“All these little actions we tend to take for granted gave them a great sense of independence.”

Following the success of the Tesco staff’s recent visit, both Sharon and Kathleen have stated that they plan to make these visits a regular affair.

To learn more about the activities promoted by the Willowbank Community Resource Centre and how you can help, you can visit www.facebook.com/willowbankcommunity.