The Tesco Extra store in Newton Aycliffe celebrated the introduction of high street fashion brands to the store by donating £1,000 to local charity Hub of Wishes and announcing the winner of its school design-a-bag competition.
The store on Greenwell Road has welcomed fashion brands Burtons, Dorothy Perkins, Evans and Wallis following a partnership between Tesco and the Arcadia Group.
The store held a special re-launch event where nine-year-old Jazmin Adderley, from St Mary’s RC Primary School, was announced as the winner of a drawing competition that the store had been running.
Jazmin was invited to join store manager Helen Maynard and Vicki Lawrence from Hub of Wishes to take part in a ribbon cutting ceremony (pictured above).
Representatives from other local charities and community groups were also welcomed at the re-opening to celebrate the strong relationships each have formed with the store.
These included Roc Solid, Shildon Alive, Junior Neighbourhood Watch, Woodcraft, St Claire’s Foodbank, the Rotary Club and Freya’s Freckle.
Hub of Wishes charity Brenda Hutchison and Vicky Lawrence with store Manager Helen Maynard at the newly revamped Tesco Extra in Newton Aycliffe.
During the celebrations, the store presented Vicki and fellow representatives from Hub of Wishes with a cheque for £1,000 which will be used to purchase a new disabled toilet at their centre and a hot water boiler for the kitchen to enable people to make hot drinks.
Tesco Extra store manager Helen Maynard said: “We would like to thank Vicki and the team from Hub of Wishes for coming along to help us celebrate the improvements to our store.
“They turned the occasion into a real celebration. We are delighted that we could support them with a donation as the team do wonderful work in our community.”
Vicki Lawrence from Hub of Wishes said: “When we were contacted by the team at Tesco to say they would like us to be a part of their celebrations and provide us with a £1,000 donation we were over the moon!
Hub of Wishes charity Brenda Hutchison and Vicky Lawrence with store Manager Helen Maynard.
“They made us feel very welcome and everyone had a lovely time. We can’t thank the store enough for their support, it means so much to the whole team.”
Along with presenting Hub of Wishes with their donation, store manager Helen also presented local pupil Jazmin with £500 for her school, St Mary’s RC Primary, a £25 gift card to spend in store and the limited edition hessian bag featuring her winning design. Pupils were asked to design a poster depicting what they love about Newton Aycliffe. Jazmin’s design features a family enjoying a walk in open space/local park.
The hessian bags were given out to customers all day and so will be seen across Newton Aycliffe and surrounding areas.
Class Teacher at St Mary’s RC Primary School, Louise Brown said: “We would like to thank the team at the Tesco Extra store in Newton Aycliffe for inviting us to join their celebrations. We had a wonderful time and Jazmin was made to feel very special. The bags look amazing and will be a lovely keepsake for Jazmin to remember her achievement. The whole school are very proud of her.”