One Stop franchisee is officially recognised as a ‘Community Hero’!

One Stop franchisee is officially recognised as a ‘Community Hero’!

Burnley One Stop franchisee, Sophie Towers has been officially recognised as a local ‘community hero’ because of her unrelenting work to help others during the COVID-19 pandemic which has seen her team undertake more than 5,000 local food deliveries.

Local shopping centre, Charter Walk, which awards the ‘Community Heroes’ received multiple nominations from across the local and wider community for Sophie to receive the accolade, due to her extraordinary efforts over the past few months.

Sophie explains how it happened: “At the start of the first lockdown I heard there was a Facebook page set up to help the local community. When I joined I quickly realised how many people were struggling.

“We started to take orders over the phone, using contactless payment and myself and the team would walk their shopping to them, free of charge. Many people were unable to leave their house, couldn’t get shopping slots or simply didn’t know how to order food online. Everything grew from there.

“As the situation with the pandemic continued we became busier and busier and were soon inundated, which meant a lot of walking! We then had a call from the local volunteer services who were able to help us with delivering by vehicle which enabled us to deliver even further. If customers called us before midday we could get them their order that day.”

In the end they covered four local towns, supplying the communities with One Stop groceries and supplies, assisted by the volunteers.

As a One Stop franchisee, Sophie also had the pressure of running her business, as well as looking after her young family but with an outstanding team behind her, alongside the systems and support of One Stop, Sophie was able to galvanize those around her to directly help others.

Acting quickly during lockdown, One Stop was one of the first retailers to offer free PPE to all our franchisees and has worked diligently behind the scenes to keep operations running in order to serve its local communities. Sophie and the rest of the One Stop franchise stores also received unparalleled support from their Business Development Manager to help with unexpected disruptions and to help guide and advise at all times.

Alongside helping to deliver food, Sophie also supported a local homeless charity and helped to provide free school meals over Half Term for families in need or those affected by Covid who were unable to feed themselves.

John Miller, One Stop Head of Franchise comments: “The work that Sophie has done for her local community is exceptional and shows how one person can create a tidal wave of support. Sophie’s work has captured the attention of local services and other charities, who have also benefitted from Sophie and her team’s selfless efforts, so there are multiple touch points across the community thanks to what they have done. She also captured the attention of all those who voted for her as their ‘hero’.

“At One Stop we’re delighted she has been recognised in an official capacity and are proud of the work that Sophie and our other 10,500 One Stop colleagues have been involved with. The community is at the heart of our stores and we thank all our colleagues who have taken their roles of creating neighbourhood hubs so seriously during the pandemic.”

Charter Walk is set to create a mural to celebrate all those awarded, so Sophie and the rest of the ‘heroes’ will be featured as shining examples, for all to see for years to come.