Retailers Jawad and Asiyah Javed from Falkirk and Dennis Williams from Edinburgh have been named as Shop Local, Shop Little Heroes for going above and beyond for their local communities during the pandemic.
Terry and Toni Caton, from Chesterfield, were also rewarded for their efforts. All of the retailers were presented with framed certificates and hundreds of pounds worth of free stock from the sponsors – Mondelez, Boost and Booker, and the NFRN.
They will now go forward to the national NFRN Awards, taking place in January 2022, where the overall winner will be revealed.
NFRN National President, Stuart Reddish, said: “Our members’ stores really are hubs in their communities and already do a lot of great work to support their local charities and good causes, but during the pandemic so many of them stepped their efforts up to another level.
“As well as working long hours and keeping their doors open for essential supplies, the moving stories we heard ranged from setting up free delivery services for the elderly and vulnerable and raising money for people in hardship, to giving away free hot meals and donating to local food banks and charities.”
Joanna Cherry, MP for Edinburgh South West, attended the celebration event. She said: “It was an honour to be part of this celebration in such wonderful surroundings and to hear the inspiring stories of all the finalists.
“During the Covid pandemic, local convenience stores came into their own, so it was a real pleasure for me as a member of parliament to see people being rewarded for that and having their service to their communities recognised.”
