Fresh News March 2018 by scarlettabbott

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The magazine for Morrisons colleagues

We Our Social special edition

WELCOME

M CA

It’s all ab ut BURY STORE BAN

CO LLEAGUES

Fresh News is back with the first edition of 2018, telling some of the inspirational stories behind The Social about how we make Morrisons. Serving our customers better is a big part of our role as foodmakers and shopkeepers. Some of our colleagues take this even further by helping customers that are in need and improving lives in the communities in which they serve. We celebrate some of these amazing stories in The Social section of Fresh News each month. It’s our chance to shine a light on the achievements of our colleagues, who work hard to raise money for charity, go the extra mile for our more vulnerable customers, and often have great fun along the way. Many of our colleagues said they love reading The Social and looking out for

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Our cover this month features some of the faces and the names of all our stores, sites and Hilmore. Fresh News is produced by Company Communications and designed by scarlettabbott – 01904 633399 | scarlettabbott.co.uk

familiar faces, so we’re taking a closer look at some of the thousands of positive stories from across our sites and stores. Stories like Suzi Colquhoun’s on page eight, when back in November she saved a customer’s life at our Blackburn store using one of our newly-fitted defibrillators. Then on page nine, find out about Pinchbeck’s sign language group, organised by Butcher Dale Pateman who wanted to make shopping easier for deaf and hard-ofhearing customers when they’re in store. We’ve even got the real-life tale of a colleague who’s stopped not one, but two elderly customers losing their savings to fraudsters. We caught up with Stacey Forrester from our Chelmsford store on her heroic actions which stopped one gentleman parting with over £1,000. Head over to page 15 to read the whole story.

WELCOME

FR LE KAY

HILM

Easter

ORE

eggs-travaganza Preparations for Easter are well underway across stores and sites, and to help our customers make the occasion over Easter, we’re adding new products to The Best and Morrisons Makes it ranges. We’re proud that 100% of fresh lamb sold in our stores is British. A US DANI

To find out more about Easter at Morrisons, turn to pages 16-17.

ES FR OM S

ITTI N

GBOURNE

SA ND RA

D OR F D FROM BE

Colleagues told us they love reading The Social and looking out for familiar faces, so we’re taking a closer look at some of the thousands of positive stories from across our sites and stores.”

Share your story Have you or someone you work with done something you want to shout about? Share your stories on:

RACHAEL PEARSON, PEOPLE SPECIALIST – COMMUNICATIONS

TO R

GOT A STORY? GET IN TOUCH

ES DL CHEA

The stories in this edition of Fresh News are just a few examples of how everyone’s effort is worthwhile. If you think you or a colleague has got a story worth telling, or you have any feedback or ideas on what you’d like to see in Fresh News, please email company.communications@morrisonsplc.co.uk. We’d love to hear from you.

MorriNews using ‘Sharing and Celebrating’ Colleague Facebook using #sharemystory Post internally to Company Communications with ‘I’m sharing my story’

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MEET JARROW

Meet our sensations Colleagues from our Jarrow store have become internet celebrities with their brilliant videos and they’ve got no plans to stop dancing just yet…

At 6:00am on a Sunday morning, you might be surprised to see 50 people descending on one of our stores. Unless you’re in Jarrow, where colleagues and their families have been delighting the internet by filming off-the-wall parodies of famous music and movie scenes and posting them on video sharing site YouTube. So far, colleagues have showed off their best dance moves in a tribute to the movie, Footloose, put on ghoulish make-up for a Morrisons take on Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video, and filmed their very own homage to the Christmas classic, Home Alone. Now meet some of the colleagues in front of and behind the camera…

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’CAUSE THIS IS THRILLER’

300k views

“We film the videos in our own time, which can mean an early start. The weirdest sight was probably the Thriller video, which we filmed at 6:00am on a Sunday. There was a deserted car park that was suddenly full of zombies!” says Andria Williams, Jarrow’s Community Champion. “Everyone loves being a part of the videos and it’s such a thrill for everyone involved. The morale in store has been sky-high ever since we started.”

MEET JARROW

WE LIKE IT Paul Middleton Can’t come to #Jarrow and not try on the iconic Thriller jacket… 241 Like

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I’M A CELEBRITY

Taking a key role in many of the videos is Lee Hewitt, Oven Baked Assistant, who played Michael Jackson in the Thriller video and actor Kevin Bacon’s character in the Footloose parody. “We’ve had a really positive reaction and I almost feel like a bit of a celebrity. I promise I won’t let it go to my head, though!” says Lee. “I’m getting recognised walking down the street and it’s been a great experience.”

IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR One of the reasons the videos are so popular is the number of volunteers willing to take part, according to Helen Stevenson, Price Integrity Manager and zombie dancer in the Thriller video. “My little girl, Alice, and my partner have both been in the videos and we’ve had such a laugh doing them. It’ll be lovely to have the videos when Alice grows up.”

I’ve never done any choreography in the past but making the videos has been great fun. Everyone worked together and the results were brilliant.”

Comments Carol-Anne Martin Now let’s see you moonwalk Paul! Rachel Bentley Love it!! I wish every store was like Jarrow. Kayle Rattigan You are working this jacket!

ALISON SIMSEKYILMAZ, PEOPLE MANAGER AND AMATEUR CHOREOGRAPHER

A WORLDWIDE SENSATION

“The reaction to the videos has been amazing,” explains Store Manager David Grey, who was responsible for the original idea of filming the comedy videos in store. “We’ve had newspapers getting in touch, colleagues getting interviewed on the radio, and we’re even getting coverage in places as far away as Argentina. “It’s incredible how much it’s taken off – the videos just started as a bit of banter around the store and in the canteen, and now it’s grown into something so much bigger. I’m really proud of everyone that’s got involved and I’m so lucky to work with such a positive and fun group of people.”

Missed the hype?

Scan this QR code to watch Jarrow’s take on Thriller

Up next “There’s a few plans in the pipeline but we’re keeping them under our hat for now,” says Mia McElwee, Cake Shop Assistant, who played Michael Jackson’s girlfriend in the Thriller film. “All I’ll say is that our next video might be ‘the one that you want.” Love Jarrow’s videos and wish your store would do their own? Then why not bring it up in your next Your Say forum? march2018

UNSOLD FOOD

Our Unsold Food Programme makes sure our surplus food reaches people and communities in need around our stores and sites. Some of the food we’re all proud of unfortunately goes to waste each month. This can be because of imperfections, missed use-by dates or damaged packaging. Over 10 million tonnes of food goes to waste in the UK each year, so it’s important we play our part in reducing this to help the environment and those in need. Our Unsold Food programme allows us to donate edible food to people and communities all year round. Here are some of the ways our colleagues in stores and sites are making a difference:

HYDE

Food for thought S-MASHING FOOD DONATIONS

ALDERSHOT

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

Our Hyde store has been helping feed the homeless in Tameside and Manchester by working with charity Sandwich Angels. Sue James, Community Champion, says, “The charity picks up sandwich fillings, like meat and cheese, every day from the store. They make an average of 700 sandwiches for the homeless throughout the week, which they deliver to soup kitchens and people on the street, and over 1,000 sandwiches on Sundays. We think it’s a great partnership for our store because we’re making a difference for people in need who are close to where we live and work.”

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Carnoustie, our potato-packing manufacturing site, has partnered with FareShare to redistribute surplus potatoes to charities across the Glasgow area to provide meals for those in need: Kirsty Reid, Carnoustie’s Site Manager, says, “We got in touch with FareShare after hearing about Cutler Heights’ great idea to donate offcut grapes. At least one pallet of potatoes has been collected every two weeks so far and delivered to 13 charities in the Glasgow area – it’s wonderful to think just how much of a difference this food is making.”

CARNOUSTIE

UNSOLD FOOD

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131,905 3 million

unsold food products donated over Christmas

products donated so far

We’re currently supporting over 400 local groups across our stores and sites with the Unsold Food programme.”

100K meals provided by our manufacturing sites through FareShare in 2017

PHILLIPA HADFIELD, CORPORATE SERVICES MANAGER – CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Becky Lancaster As part of our unsold food donations programme all of our stores can donate unsold food to local charities/groups every day, all year round! We have so far donated over 3 million products through this programme! 90 Like

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Paul Middleton Share your own store’s experiences of the unsold food programme on here or by e-mailing CR@morrisonsplc.co.uk and thanks to everyone who’s made a difference so far.

THE QUAY TO UNSOLD FOOD

Sue Morris, Community Champion at our Connah’s Quay store, says, “We give our unsold produce and bread to two local charities in our area. Plas Belin is a charity that temporarily re-homes vulnerable families in Flintshire, and Sunray is a local charity that helps women with children who find themselves homeless. “We’ve been working with these two charities since our store opened six years ago, and we also donate additional food through our charity budget to help them hold parties for the children staying with them. As they both work closely together, the collections are spread out between them each day. It’s amazing to see our food helping two incredible charities in our community.”

Comments Shares

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Comments Marian Lovell Aldridge 241 started donating food this week, the local food bank is very pleased!

Top tips for donating from your store

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX:

USE GOOGLE

TALK TO YOUR COLLEAGUES

you don’t have to choose a registered charity – it could be a school, care home or other group that would benefit from the food.

to find out about causes in your area that you could donate to.

and Your Say forum about charities they’re already involved with for inspiration.

FIND OUT MORE…

about how you can get involved through your Community Champion or by contacting the Corporate Responsibility team CR@morrisonsplc.co.uk march2018

DEFIBRILLATORS

The heart f the matter

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Suzi Colquhoun, Cash and Administration Manager at our Blackburn store, used one of our newly-installed defibrillators to save a customer’s life.

Defibrillators were recently placed in all of our stores thanks to a £500,000 grant from the Morrisons Foundation. While we hope we never have to use them, they’re vital should sudden cardiac arrest occur, as Suzi found out. “I was sat in the office, when Simon, our Store Manager, came over to say that a customer had collapsed in one of the aisles. We ran out and grabbed the defibrillator on the way – it all happened so fast. “When we got to the customer, it was clear he wasn’t breathing. Straight away, I put the pads on his chest and shocked him. I then performed CPR until another colleague took over. “It was the longest moment of my life. There was no time to think – the only thought in my head was “this guy needs help”.

Did you know?

Around 30,000 people have a cardiac arrest each year away from hospital

The chance of survival once a heart stops falls by 10% for every minute that passes without defibrillation

A defibrillator can improve chances of survival by 60% if used immediately

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“After the customer had been taken to hospital, the paramedics returned two hours later and let me know that he was sat-up and talking. It was such a relief. “When the customer was well again, he came in with his family, and they all thanked me. You never appreciate something until you need it, and I can’t stress the importance of the defibrillators enough – I’m glad we’ve got one in every store.” Simon Hulley, Store Manager, says, “We’re so proud of Suzi’s quick and calm thinking to save the life of one of our customers.”

Rhys Pursey Cardiff 469 fitted with our new defib Comments Shares

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Paul Middleton Customers and colleagues have told us that they would like to see a defibrillator in all of our stores. A ‘defib’ can be the difference between life and death in the event of sudden cardiac arrest. We’ve listened and responded and through a £500,000 Morrisons Foundation grant, as well as working with St John Ambulance and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, we’ve created a scheme which will provide defibs to all of our stores plus familiarisation sessions for first aid colleagues by the end of October this year. 829 Like

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SIGN LANGUAGE

Our Pinchbeck colleagues signed up to learn Simple Signed English to serve more of our customers better in store.

A sign of the times When Dale Pateman, a Butcher in our Pinchbeck store, befriended a deaf colleague by learning some basic sign language, he realised how much of an impact it could have on our customers. “I first met Alison at work as her carer was a family friend. Initially I would write things down and she would teach me how to sign

certain words. I found 12 colleagues who were interested in learning Simple Signed English (SSE) by putting posters up in the store and contacted Jo Lane from the charity SENSE. She agreed to help teach us sign language, and one Sunday evening the Morrisons Pinchbeck SSE group was born. “I’m so pleased to see others getting on board and feeling excited to learn a new skill

that could completely change the lives of our deaf, mute or hard-of-hearing colleagues and customers. I hope this will encourage other stores to learn it and make a difference too.” Jo has worked for SENSE for 15 years and was really pleased to hear from Dale: “I’ve always dreamt about helping all deaf and blind people to fully integrate into society – no one with any disability should feel, or be made to feel, isolated.”

WE LIKE IT Patricia Karen Pursey Proud of my Morrisons family at Pinchbeck 083, well done guys and gals! 81 Like

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Did you know? Around 150,000 people use sign language in Britain and 87,000 of those are deaf. Comments

Dale’s done a fantastic job creating this group and making sure we can give more and more customers even better service than ever before. It really goes to show how everyone’s effort is worthwhile in showing customers how important they are to us.”

Heather Hood Well done, I think it’s a great idea! Like • Reply Katryn Bullock What a brilliant idea. Like • Reply

JASON SAVAGE, STORE MANAGER, PINCHBECK march2018

YOUR SAY FORUM

You said, we did

Over 50 colleagues from across the business recently got together at our National Your Say forum to share their thoughts with David and the Leadership team – but at a local level big things are happening too.

Your Say forums are a chance for colleagues from Retail, Manufacturing, Logistics, and Hilmore to share their ideas for making Morrisons a better place to work and shop. From changes to the whole business to suggestions that can make a positive difference to our stores and sites at a local level – it doesn’t matter how big or small – if colleagues have an idea or suggestion, Your Say is the perfect chance to share it. “As colleagues, we know our business best, and Your Say forums are a chance to share that understanding and come up with ideas on how to make things better,” says Sophie Peace, People Specialist – Engagement. “I’d encourage everyone to find out who their Your Say forum member is and get in touch if you’ve got an idea.”

Ready, steady, cook “For those of us trying to eat well at work, we decided to take it in turns to bring in our favourite healthy recipes to the canteen. Everyone should have the chance to make healthy changes to their diet at work, and this was a great way for everyone to try something new,” says Jenni Kwiatkowski from Dukinfield. “To make sure everyone has the chance to get involved in our meetings, we’re organising future Your Say meetings around our colleagues who work night shifts.”

Making a big difference Since Your Say began in July 2016, colleagues have been making a positive impact. Here are a few examples of how the way we do things has been changed for the better:

As colleagues, we know our business best and Your Say forums are a chance to share that understanding and come up with ideas on how to make things better.” SOPHIE PEACE, PEOPLE SPECIALIST – ENGAGEMENT

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Increased visibility “Our personal protective equipment wasn’t always keeping us dry at work, so we raised the problem in our Your Say forum,” says Mandy Watts from our Thrapston Manufacturing Site. “Not long after, we trialled new equipment that worked perfectly. It’s great to know we can have a say and make changes about how we work. The new equipment’s been such a success that it’s been rolled out to all the team.”

YOUR SAY FORUM

Making progress “After one of our site’s Your Say forums, we created a career storyboard to show colleagues how they can progress at Morrisons,” says Tania de Sousa from Latimer Park. “As well as telling the story of how some of our colleagues have already developed, it shows new job opportunities and translations for colleagues who don’t speak English as their first language. It’s a small change that we hope will inspire people to find new ways to make it at Morrisons.”

WE LIKE IT Ellis Dever The first Your Say Forum of 2018 took place at Lindsayfield 171 today. Thanks to all colleagues who shared some great feedback and ideas, making it a really enjoyable session 19 Like

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Paul Middleton It’s question time! David and the team take questions from the forum at first ever National #yoursay forum. 57 Like

THE IT CROWD

“After a suggestion from a Your Say forum at Hilmore we’ve set up an onsite Tech Bar where colleagues can visit with any IT-related issues they might be experiencing,” says Melanie Dunne. “So far, the Tech Bar has had 751 visitors since it launched on 31st October, with 95% of those issues fixed first time. It’s a great way to make sure we can all keep working when problems arise and you can meet some new faces while you’re stopping by!”

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Debbie Creaser Fantastic Huddersfield, South Yorkshire and North Manchester #yoursay meeting today at Huddersfield. 10 Like

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Get in touch

Want to find out what colleagues asked the panel at the National Your Say forum? Head to MorriNews to see the full Q&A and look out for our video. Do you have an idea or need a solution to be found? Contact your Your Say forum member in site or store, or email yoursay@morrisonsplc.co.uk

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APPRENTICES

WE LIKE IT Alison Wood Well done to Claire at 080 Redcar successfully gaining a place on the Craft Apprenticeship for Fishmonger 21 Like

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Our

apprentices More and more people are choosing to make it at Morrisons with an apprenticeship. Apprenticeships are one of the ways our colleagues can develop skills while they’re working. From office-based work with the Finance Team to repairing machinery at one of our Manufacturing sites, or learning a craft foodmaking skill on Market Street, there’s opportunities all over the business. In time for National Apprenticeship Week, which runs from 5th to 9th March, we’re celebrating the fact more colleagues than ever before can progress in their career with us at Morrisons.

We truly are leading the way with our apprenticeships. With over 430 colleagues currently working towards completing one, we’re creating more and more opportunities to develop, progress and grow at Morrisons.” LISA LEIGHTON, HEAD OF PEOPLE – TALENT, LEADERSHIP & COMMUNICATIONS

A day in the life As well as celebrating National Apprenticeship Week this month, it’s also International Women’s Day on Thursday 8th March. Tyler Foster is an Engineering Apprentice at our Gadbrook Manufacturing site. Tyler’s apprenticeship is helping her become a multi-skilled maintenance engineer while studying at college – but what does a typical day look like for her in what’s traditionally been seen as a ‘male’ role? “I start my day by pulling together reports and going to the Daily 12

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Review Meeting. This is where managers and operatives catch up and discuss any issues we’ve had with fruit production at Gadbrook. It’s nice that I’m trusted by my manager to represent the team and going to meetings has helped me build my confidence and express my opinions.” “One of my responsibilities is to take care of our machines when there are any problems or breakdowns. As part of my apprenticeship,

I go to college where I’ve learned to do things like strip gearboxes and motors. Doing this in my job is a practical way to put what I’ve learned to good use.” “At the end of the week, I might make plans to walk my dogs with a couple of colleagues. It’s traditionally a male-dominated environment, but I’ve felt really welcome since I joined. We have a great laugh and I’ve become so much more confident since I started working here.

“I’d recommend one of the apprenticeships or degree apprenticeships to anyone that’s looking to learn while they’re working.”

To find out more about our apprenticeships, visit morrisons.jobs or speak to your People Manager

STOPPING THE SCAMMERS

Say NO

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to scammers

Stacey Forrester from our Chelmsford store recently stopped an elderly customer from becoming a victim of fraudsters. “An elderly gentleman approached my till looking to buy over £1,000 of iTunes vouchers, and I knew something wasn’t right,” says Stacey Forrester, Customer Assistant. “I asked some questions and the customer said he couldn't tell me why he was buying the vouchers. At that point, I knew scammers had targeted him. “The scam involves fraudsters contacting victims claiming to

be from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and tricking them into paying fake debts and taxes using iTunes gift cards. After the cards have been purchased, the victim is asked to share the 16-digit code on the back of the card with a caller over the phone. “I calmed the customer down by taking him over to customer services. From there, we called the police and I even answered his phone and spoke to the scammers when they called his mobile phone and told them to leave him alone!

“It’s nice to know I managed to save the customer from losing out on a large sum of money and he rang the store afterwards to say thank you.” Phil Bradshaw, Loss Prevention Manager, said: “Stacey deserves a big pat on the back. Unfortunately, elderly customers are often the focus of these scams, which prey on vulnerability by trying to confuse or scare them. “It’s important that all colleagues are aware of this type of scam and keep an eye out for any transactions that look strange or out of place.”

TOP TIPS on how to spot potential scams in store: BE ALERT: HMRC will never use texts to tell people about a tax rebate or penalty, or ask for payment using vouchers. KEEP AN EYE ON QUANTITIES: If a customer asks to buy a large number of vouchers, this might be a sign they’re being targeted by a fraudster. If this happens, let your Team Manager know.

Dawn Holliday I’ve just had two customers trying to purchase gift cards and make up worth £500 using a pre-paid card – Kath did a fantastic job of spotting this scam 33 Like

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Tom Coldman I’ve had a distraught lady in store today whose elderly father had been called by somebody claiming to be from HMRC. He then spent £7,000 on the vouchers and read the codes over the phone to the fraudster. Be vigilant! 67 Like

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Tracy Jones Massive well done to Phil Perks who stopped a customer being scammed for £1,000! 79

KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER: Think about a customer’s age and if their request seems unusual, ask a question, like “are these a gift?” See how the customer responds. If it still seems odd, speak to your Team Manager.

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IF IN DOUBT, CHECK WITH YOUR TEAM MANAGER: Run any strange requests past a colleague or Team Manager for a second opinion, or report the potential scam to Action Fraud, the national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre. Something seem strange? Contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040. march2018 13

WE LIKE IT!

Each month we’ll share the best of the best from our Colleague Facebook page, whether that’s videos, posts or photos. Here are the top posts from this month.

Greg Mcdougall and the team at our J41 logistics site entertained with their Christmas lip-sync.

Rachel Cartwright from our Hartlepool store is a huge Hartlepool United fan – so much so that she set up a Just Giving page and raised £65,000 to keep the club running. She even talked about it on Sky Sports News.

Share your story

We want your stories! Find out how on p3.

Denise Dales-Coupland from Stockton normally helps an elderly customer with her shopping every week. When the store heard the customer wouldn’t be coming in as she’d had a fall, Denise took care of the customer’s shopping and took it to her home. Colleagues in Worksop helped loyal customer Henry celebrate his 80th birthday with cake, cards, balloons and singing.

Lorna and Becky, two of our graduates from Wakefield presented the Neonatal Newborn Care Unit at St James Hospital Leeds with a donation of raffle prizes and baby clothes on behalf of our Your Say forum.

Janet Collins welcomed famous TV personality Gregg Wallace at our Boroughbridge store.

Community Champions Sue Whitehead and Evette Broughton from our Clifton store taught the children of Nethergate Special School how to make bread. Colleagues from our Littlehampton store took home gold in the town’s charity Pancake Olympics for their flipping skills.

After passing their Safe and Legal audit, colleagues in Kendal celebrated with a free buffet lunch.

Donna Jury welcomed one of our younger customers in Bideford. Posted by Rosey Teape, the picture received hundreds of likes.

GET INVOLVED

Colleagues at Verwood delivered a customer’s Food to Order shopping to his door when he was too ill to pick it up and even included a bunch of flowers to cheer him up.

You can find more stories, and share your own with colleagues across our business, on Colleague Facebook. Email facebook@morrisonsplc.co.uk with your full name, Colleague ID number and login email address to sign up. 14

Colleagues from our Lincoln store hosted a Veterans’ Tea for the third year running. The Mayor, Sheriff and their consort attended alongside 80 Veterans.

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Sarah Smith from our Cannock store recently ran both the Stafford and Birmingham Half Marathons to raise £384.47 for CLIC Sargent. Community Champion Sue Threlfall and Maria Roberts from Colwyn Bay shared the toys from this year’s in-store toy appeal between Hope House Children’s Hospice and the children’s ward at Glan Clwyd Hospital.

Our Lichfield store recently had its Fresh Look relaunch. The ribbon was cut by customer Ivy Butcher who is 101 years old, and Store Manager Richard Shaw. The pair were presented with a bouquet of flowers by Karen Gibson. We make fundraising go further by matching money raised to give back more, and giving grants to charities close to our hearts. A PERFECT MATCH: OUR MATCH FUNDING HIGHLIGHTS Our Barnsley store presented a cheque for £62,910 to local charity Centrepoint. This will allow them to deliver a learning programme to support homeless young people in the local area.

Elliot Campbell from our Engineering team in Thrapston did a charity leg wax to raise funds for a colleague children’s Christmas party.

Child Bereavement UK were presented with a £22,400 cheque by our Warrington store to run bereavement training for professionals and community groups in the North of England.

A huge £18,000 was donated by our Bideford store to Devon Freewheelers, a charity that provides an out-of-hours service to the NHS. The money will be used to buy a new bike for their fleet.

Our Your Say forum has been supporting Darren Fisher from our grocery warehouse at J41 logistics site to raise funds for a family he met in Cuba. They now have a new mobile phone, new clothing and everyday items like pens and paper.

Huddersfield showed their support for their local Community Trust with a donation of £9,054. This will be used to run a series of sports activities for disabled people.

Our Margate store presented a cheque for £5,455 to East Kent Mencap to run a series of healthy eating and physical activity workshops.

Colleagues at Ellesmere Port presented Wirral Hospice St John’s with a donation for £18,264 to buy reclining chairs for their inpatient unit.

Community Champion Anna Ingram from Southport presented a donation of £100 to Sara from the North West Ambulance Service.

GRANTING WISHES: RECENT GRANT FUNDING STORIES Kate Lycett from our Barnsley store completed the Bubble Rush fun run, raising £620 for Barnsley Hospice. Hilmore’s Simon Galvin completed the Tough Mudder, raising £2,065 for Brain Tumour Research.

Michelle Mendham from our Catton store organised a delicious turkey dinner for 120 elderly customers in her area.

Buxton’s Jo Bothamley ran 5km run for Scotty’s Little Soldiers, raising £1,400. Val Gaughan from our Malton store raised £1,112 for Yorkshire Cancer Research by completing the Great North Run.

Apply for match funding at

morrisonsfoundation.co.uk

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EASTER

Making it at

Easter.

Easter is an important occasion for our customers and colleagues. For many people it marks one of the oldest Christian festivals, while for others it’s a chance for families and friends to get together. We’ve got a great selection of Easter treats from The Best and Morrisons Makes it ranges, for however we choose to celebrate.

Our

Market Street heroes

Eating fish on Good Friday or tucking into roast lamb on Easter Sunday is traditional at Easter, and we’re proud that our in-store fishmongers and butchers will be helping our customers make the occasion with hand-prepared fish and meat. This year, we’re also pleased to say that all of our fresh lamb is 100% British and great value. It’s our way of making sure our customers can afford to enjoy eating well this Easter. For those customers looking to make their traditional lunch even more special, we’re selling a delicious Good Housekeeping Institute-approved Carvery Leg of Lamb. We’re also stocking a Super Trim Rib of Beef and a Three Fish Roast, all of which are hand-prepared or trimmed in store.

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EF BE OF RIB

MAX SAUNDERS, MASTERCRAFT BUTCHERY APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR, LISKEARD

SUPER TRIM

I always enjoy hand-preparing meat for our customers in store, especially our Leg of Lamb at Easter. We know our customers like to know where their food’s from, so they’re always pleased when I tell them it’s 100% British.”

EASTER

Food we’re all

proud of

A RA N G E OF

E TER THE BEST EAS

We’ve listened and responded to customers who told us they wanted to see more of The Best at Easter, so this year we’ve got The Best Belgian Milk Chocolate Egg, which comes with an extra treat of Marc de Champagne or Caramel Truffles. We’ve also got smaller flavoured eggs, including The Best Milk Chocolate Orange, Dark Chocolate Mint, and Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel.

Satisfying your

sweet tooth

N RA

ARE HOT CROSS BUNS D SH

TOM GARRATT, MASTERCRAFT BAKERY CHAMPION, LEOMINSTER

We’ll be letting our customers try before they buy with tasting sessions in 473 stores.

CO O ED

There are lots of different types of Hot Cross Buns for our customers to try this year, all hand-finished in store. Our tear and share version is my favourite, I always have to stop myself from finishing the whole thing.”

KIES

We make over half of the fresh food we sell in store. It’s what makes us unique and showcases our skills as foodmakers and shopkeepers. Customers tell us they love seeing products being prepared, and this Easter, our skilled bakers will be preparing new Lemon Palmiers, Tear and Share Hot Cross Buns, and Giant Personalised Cookies. For customers who want to trade up, our Good Housekeeping Instituteapproved The Best Double Chocolate and Sour Cherry Hot Cross Buns are a tasty alternative.

N GIANT PERSO

IS AL

WE LIKE IT Share the Easter items you love on our Colleague Facebook page. march2018 17

CLIC SARGENT

OUR EASTER On Good Friday 2016, doctors said nothing more could be done for two-year old Dylan. But on Easter Sunday, something amazing happened… As a happy, smiling schoolboy, you would never guess Dylan Askin nearly didn’t make it to his first day at school. The remarkable youngster has actually had a long and scary road to recovery, after being diagnosed with pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (PLCH) in 2016 – a type of cancer that causes cysts on the lungs.

Medical Hospital in Nottingham revealed his lungs were 80% covered in cysts, and delivered the terrifying one in ten million diagnosis of PLCH. “Having the diagnosis was actually incredibly reassuring”, said Kerry Askin. “They said that if they could get him stable, it would be quite treatable. I have never been more relieved in my life to hear that something could be done.”

2015

PREPARING FOR THE WORST

On Christmas Day 2015, Dylan was rushed to Derby Royal Hospital with breathing problems and was found to have a collapsed lung. Further tests by specialists at the High Dependency Unit at Queens 18

march2018

After recovering enough to leave intensive care, Dylan then had a febrile seizure on the ward and contracted bacterial pneumonia that left his lungs barely functioning. “On Good Friday they told us things were looking bleak and that we weren’t going to get him back”, said Kerry. “All the settings on all the machines were at their highest and he was still struggling. We had him christened, all his family came from all over to say goodbye, including his big brother. “I was devastated. I hadn’t slept for days building up to it. I was crying all the time. They had actually closed off part of the

unit so we could stay with him overnight because he could have gone at any minute. All the while we were singing to him and talking to him and saying goodbye.”

A MIRACLE IN THE MAKING Early the next morning, the doctors – in agreement with Dylan’s parents – started to withdraw his life support. But miraculously, as they withdrew his medication and began to sedate him, his heart rate dropped to normal levels.

“We just said ‘Stop! There’s still fight in him.’ Then his oxygen levels started to pick up, and he started coming back to us. By Easter Sunday, he was stable enough that I felt comfortable enough to have a lie down. I was strong in the belief that he was our Easter miracle. I am not massively religious but I did think it was a miracle. When we told our eldest, he said “he’s like Jesus” – because he had been learning about it in school.”

CLIC SARGENT

MIRACLE The Best

Easter Egg

Morrisons is supporting CLIC Sargent this Easter with the sale of this handdecorated Easter egg. The milk chocolate egg, from The Best range, features a hand-swirled pattern in CLIC Sargent’s signature pink colour, and is being sold for £4 with all proceeds going to the charity.

All the while, CLIC Sargent were supporting the family through their ordeal. Their CLIC Sargent social worker provided grants to help them cope with the costs of cancer, which for Dylan’s family amounted to a £300 a month petrol bill. Their social worker also helped with discharge meetings and school support for Dylan’s older brother Bryce. Kerry said: “For us, it took all of the pressure off, as we were living in the hospital and it was one less thing to worry about. We would say what we were struggling with and she would find a solution. It meant we could spend quality time with our children. It has made us see the value of our time with them so much. What CLIC Sargent gave us was invaluable – they gave us the gift of time with our child when we thought we didn’t have much left.” Dylan underwent chemotherapy for the cancer which ended in July 2017. He is now a happy young boy and proud older brother to Logan, one.

WE LIKE IT Catherine Urquhart Absolutely delighted to say that with the Brownies bag packing, our staff raffle, tombola, WCD bands and CLIC Sargent guys collecting, our approx total (as we’ve still got some to count for 338 Tiverton) is £850! 33 Like

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Angela Gardiner

2017 55 Like

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Jane Williams Rubery 259 raised an awesome £1743.82 for CLIC Sargent last week. We had amazing support from staff and our CLIC Sargent Fundraising Manager, Thank you! 39 Like

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CLIC Sargent gave us the gift of time with our son when we thought we didn’t have much left.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CLIC SARGENT AND HOW MORRISONS SUPPORT IS HELPING FAMILIES LIKE DYLAN’S, PLEASE VISIT CLICSARGENT.ORG.UK/MORRISONS march2018 19

The Best Stem Ginger, Turmeric and Mango Hot Cross Buns, 4pk ÂŁ1.00