SPAR Masters Oswaldtwistle 2

James Hall & Co. Ltd has celebrated the company reaching the £500,000 milestone for Spar’s charity partner Marie Curie.

As part of the celebrations, the company has been recognising the achievements of the highest fundraising Spar stores across the North of England.

This includes Nigel and Sue Masters’ Spar in Oswaldtwistle (pictured) which is the highest fundraising independent retailer store with a total of £5,271.75 raised since Spar partnered with Marie Curie in March 2017.

Nigel Masters said: “I’m surprised and very happy to be the leading Spar independent retailer in the North of England for Marie Curie fundraising, and it’s a terrific feeling to have contributed so much to the £500,000 milestone achieved by James Hall & Co. Ltd.

“I know from personal experience just how valued skilled and compassionate end of life care is by families for their loved ones, and Marie Curie is a wonderful cause.

“We have a first class community Spar store here in Oswaldtwistle and our staff wholeheartedly get behind fundraising opportunities. Local residents and businesses really appreciate this and I think it is why our customers have supported Marie Curie so generously.”

Other leading company-owned Spar stores that have done notable on-the-ground fundraising include Sandringham Way, Walton-le-Dale (£5,302.05), Hutton Way, Carlisle (£4,555.45), East Ayton, Scarborough (£4,194.74), and Eston, Middlesbrough (£2,779.70).

Niels Dekkers, retail development director at James Hall & Co. Ltd, said: “The £500,000 milestone for Marie Curie is a huge achievement for our company, and it is a very proud moment for James Hall & Co. Ltd. Marie Curie provide an incredible end of life care service and we are delighted to be able to support this invaluable work.

“This latest milestone, coming just 12 months after reaching the £400,000 mark, could not have been achieved so quickly without the kind-heartedness of our loyal customers across the North of England, combined with the commitment and inventiveness of stores and their fundraising initiatives. I would like to congratulate the team at Masters Oswaldtwistle for their brilliant fundraising work.”

The wholesaler supports Marie Curie through a number of initiatives including yellow collection boxes, Marie Curie’s annual great daffodil appeal in March, and the national day of reflection when supporters are encouraged to wear a daffodil pin and take a moment to show their support for the bereaved and to remember those we have lost.

Marie Curie is a UK-based end of life care charity and provides essential frontline nursing and hospice care for people with any terminal illness, as well as a free support line, and a wealth of information and support on all aspects of dying, death and bereavement.

Linda McCarten, senior healthcare assistant at the charity, said: “I’ve worked in the care sector for more than 30 years and excellent end of life care is of paramount importance. I joined Marie Curie 13 years ago after I saw at close quarters the fantastic end of life care they provided to a relative of mine, and after I personally experienced the empathy the charity’s frontline team provided for our wider family at that time.

“To have the support of Spar and James Hall & Co. Ltd really is amazing, and £500,000 is a brilliant total to have reached. This helps fund our critical work. I’m a regular at my local Spar store, and it has supported me through the pandemic too as a collection point for PPE, enabling me to carry on doing the work I love for Marie Curie.”