Preston-local, Amy Angus at Pets At Home (Charity Manager for the company) has just been shortlisted for a ‘Community Hero award’ at the prestigious Retail Week Awards 2023, the benchmark of excellence in the sector!
Amy is one of only a handful of individuals from across the UK to have been shortlisted for the Community Hero award which celebrates the vital and unique role that retail plays in local communities. On the back of the pandemic, and at a time when shoppers and their communities are affected more than ever by the cost of living crisis, this award applauds individuals or teams who have gone above and beyond their day job to help others. The judges will be looking at nominations that demonstrate the positive impact retailers can have on people’s lives on a local level and that shine a light on the true brand ambassadors in their business. 2023 judges include Mike Coupe, Executive Chair at New Look, Oak Furniture Land, Simon Roberts, CEO at Sainsbury’s, Jo Jenkins, CEO at White Stuff and more.
In terms of Amy’s background and reasons as to why she stands out & testimonials:
Amy joined Pets at Home Preston store 10 years ago, and has been Community and Charity Manager for the last four years. She always goes above and beyond to support pets and the people who love them and never stops searching for new ways we can help. Amy has been nominated for this award as she continually puts the community at the heart of decision-making and works so hard to make a positive difference to pets and the people who love them.
Amy also manages the colleague hardship fund, supporting colleagues who need it most. She has ensured the process for colleagues is streamlined, so support can be given effectively. Over 400 colleagues have received funding totalling over £600,000.
However, over and above her remit, Amy strives to support those who need it most, for example:
-When the crisis in Ukraine unfolded, she immediately took action to see how the business could help. Within weeks, Amy launched an online fundraiser which raised over £100,000 within 4 weeks, which was supported by an additional £100k pledge from the business. This has been the biggest UK fundraising campaign targeting pets impacted by the war. Amy then worked alongside experts and organisations on a daily and weekly basis to ensure the funds were awarded where and when it was needed most. Amy held check ins with the organisations to ensure the support was reviewed and the impact shared with our customers and colleagues.
-In response to the cost-of-living crisis, Amy was passionate about supporting people within communities who were facing the difficult decision over whether they could afford to feed their pets. In response to this need, Amy developed and led the business’ response launching the first UK nationwide trial of pet food banks to help keep more pets and people together in loving homes.
Outside of work Amy also goes out of her way to support her local community:
-Amy is the section leader for her local Cubs group, supporting 20 children on a weekly basis with engaging and educational child-led programmes.
-Chair of the local school fundraising group, raising over £5,000 in the last 5 months.
– Safeguarding Governor for the local school.
Amy’s kindness for those in need shines through, supporting people and communities inside and outside of work, it is part of her DNA. She is a true brand ambassador for the business putting her energy and passion into helping pets and people who love them in local communities.”
Funds raised
-Over £5 million raised within the last 12 months
-Over £100,000 raised and £100,000 pledged to support the Ukraine crisis
Impact
-Over £3.5 million donated through grants funding supporting 86 organisations
-1,100 pallets of food distributed to pets in need
-Over 9,500 hours donated through community days
-Record-breaking fundraising events including £2.2 million raised in the Santa Paws appeal.
-Driving 342 local community relationships between stores and charities
-Supporting over 400 colleagues through times of hardship
-Launching pet food bank initiative across the UK
Testimonials
Kelly Grellier, Chief Operating Officer, Blue Cross:
“Every conversation we have had over the past year or so you demonstrate your core motivation for both pets and their people. But you don’t just talk about it you take action. From a comment during a meeting on Ukraine, where I mentioned we were working on a national food bank solution, you were positive from the outset and saw the potential to work together to have a greater impact and ensure pets did not go hungry.
“Your focus is always centred on ensuring that what we do will definitely make the biggest difference for pets and people. At the risk of embarrassing you, I love the things that make you tear up, seeing the pet loss room in our Grimsby hospital and how it was set up to be a tranquil space – because you know what that will mean to owners and knowing the precise number of pets that have not gone hungry because of the pet food banks, picturing their happy wagging tails!
“I really hope you win this award, you work tirelessly to help as many people and their pets as possible nationwide and you never give up because a problem is knotty, you keep going with the end impact in mind.”
Robert Kent, Chief Data Officer, Pets at Home:
“Amy is the driving force behind all of our charitable initiatives and has had another fantastic year as Charity and Community Manager at Pets at Home. A few of the highlights from the year include the successful launch our new company volunteering programme “Our Better World Pledge” days; an amazing fundraising campaign focussing on helping pets in need in Ukraine raising over £100k, and our most successful “Santa Paws” fundraiser to date that enables the Foundation to continue to be the biggest grant giver to rescues across the UK and award grants to small and large rescues and other pet charities across the UK”
Amy is now getting ready to attend the Retail Week Awards ceremony in London on 30 March which will celebrate the standout achievements of the retail workforce over the last year.
