During 2019 Roys is pleased to have been able to help a huge number of charities and good causes both locally and nationally. The total number of causes Roys has been able to help is 392, ranging from Access Community Trust to Whizz-Kidz and everything in between. The majority of those helped were through raffle prize donations, meaning many of the donations will have hopefully gone on to help raise even more money for charity.

In total we've raised over £35,000 through our MADL donations, plastic bag charges, raffle prize donations & other money raising events such as charity raffles and wearing fancy dress on special days.

The 5p plastic bag charge has raised £19,515, going to several charities. Our stores have different charities of the year voted on by the staff and those charities will receive a donation equal to the amount that store has raised. In total 10 charities will receive the following donations; £6393.48 to East Anglian Air Ambulance (raised by our Wroxham Food Hall), £2067.53 to Leukaemia UK (raised by our Wroxham Department Store), £570.34 to Nelson's Journey (raised by our Wroxham Toy, Gardening & DIY Stores), £4662.65 to the BIG C (raised by our Bowthorpe store), £862.57 to East Anglian Air Ambulance (raised by our Beccles store), £388.10 to BEAT (raised by our Dereham store), £1458.86 to Muscular Dystrophy UK (raised by our Magdalen Street store), £438.36 to SERV Norfolk Blood Bikes (raised by our North Walsham store), £1192.34 to SESAW Animal Welfare (raised by our Sudbury store), £1044.14 to ASD Helping Hands (raised by our Thetford store) and £437.47 to EACH's Nook Appeal (raised by our Highway store).

Our Making A Difference Locally Fund (MADL) has helped 21 great causes with donations ranging from £100 to £1,000. In this scheme money is put into Roys' MADL fund based on sales of selected grocery products sold in Roys stores and then used to help local charities and good causes. Donations from this scheme include; £500 to Dereham CoE Infant School to help fund a new roof, £250 to 2nd Beccles Scouts to help replace stolen equipment, £500 each to Coltishall Preschool and Primary School and, £250 to Stalham & Smallburgh First Responders for a defibrillator trainer.

More information about how Roys helps charites is available on our Charity & Community page. If you would like to be considered for the MADL fund please contact [email protected] telling us a bit about your charity or project and how you would like help.

Roys of Wroxham department store manager Andrew Banthorpe was happy to present Mick Sims, treasurer of East Ruston Village Hall with a £1000 cheque donation.

Roys were approached by Chris Marsden, on behalf of East Ruston Village Hall Trustees and management committee asking for assistance in raising funds to pay for repairs of the village hall roof and doors. The £1000 donated will be used to purchase new doors that will be manufactured by a local carpenter and will be designed to reflect those originally fitted when the hall was built in 1925.

The Committee continue to raise funds to meet the £60,000 target to ensure the hall is fully restored.

I am pleased we were able to help with repairs of East Ruston Village Hall, we know buildings such as these as very important to the local community and it is good to see an old building being repaired in such a way to stay in keeping with its original design.Ed RoyRoys Managing Director

The donation was made possible through the Making A Difference Locally Scheme, of which Roys is a member. Money is put into Roys' MADL fund based on sales of selected grocery products sold in Roys stores and then used to help local charities and good causes. More information about the fund is available on our Charity & Community page, and if you would like to be considered for the MADL fund please contact [email protected] telling us a bit about your charity or project and how you would like help.

Friday 13th December is Christmas Jumper Day and the staff in our Wroxham stores and office were happy to do their bit in a festive knit to help raise money for charity. Money raised will go to Save The Children.

Roys Christmas Shopping Evening was held on Tuesday 12th November as a special event for pre-registered guests to get into the Christmas spirit and enjoy some great deals too! On arrival guests received a complimentary goody bag, mince pie & drink, as well as Stalham Brass Band performing live to help get everyone into the festive mood. A number of representatives from big brands were in store for shoppers to meet and ask advice about some of their favourite products as well as demonstrations of some too.

After the resounding success of the first ever Norfolk Day last year Roys has again been celebrating Norfolk Day for 2019!

This year Roys is holding its celebrations across two days, Friday 26th July and on Norfolk Day itself Saturday 27th July. Some of Roys favourite local suppliers are joining us in our Wroxham Food Hall, providing free tastings of the delicious products and giving customers the opportunity to meet the suppliers that make the food & drinks they love. There has also been a Norfolk Hamper giveaway on Facebook, filled with lots of Norfolk goodies, running in the week leading up to Norfolk Day.

Suppliers attending Friday 26th July

• Dann's Farm ice cream
• Gnaw chococlate
• Candi's Chutney
• St Giles Gin
• Norfolk Gin
• Yare Valley oils
• Wildcraft Brewery
• Redwell Brewery
• Woodfordes Brewery
• Jonas Seafood

Suppliers attending Saturday 27th July

• Archangel Gin
• Norton's Dairy
• Black Shuck Gin
• Pastry Cutters
• Kettle Chips

Roys is pleased to announce the donation of £250 to Stalham & Smallburgh First Responders. The money helped to purchase a Defibrillator Trainer which will be used to train the public on how to use publicly accessible defibrillator machines that can be found in schools, pubs, shops etc.

Stalham & Smallburgh First Responders are volunteers who live or work within the local area, and are trained by the East of England Ambulance Service to give basic life support. Their training includes how to treat casualties with breathing difficulties, chest pains, unconsciousness and many other health issues.

The donation was made possible through the Making A Difference Locally Scheme, of which Roys is a member. Money is put into Roys' MADL fund based on sales of selected grocery products sold in Roys stores and then used to help local charities and good causes. More information about the fund is available on our Charity & Community page, and if you would like to be considered for the MADL fund please contact [email protected] telling us a bit about your charity or project and how you would like help.

Roys is pleased to announce the donation of £500 to Colman Junior School towards improving the outside play area. Roys were approached by the school's PTA who were looking to raise funds to provide additional facilities for education at the Colman Infant & Junior Schools in Norwich and they have now raised over £10,500 towards an outside play area. The proposed play area will hopefully include play trees with posts and balance ropes, feature logs, balance beams, stepping logs, monkey bars, grass mats and native trees for natural shade. The area will be beneficial to children from both schools, staff and parents.

We are pleased to be able to help donate £500 towards the project at the Colman Schools, it is always great to see where the donations will be spent and understand how the local community will benefit. I can’t wait to see the finished project!Dan DicksStore manager at Roys of Bowthorpe

Colman Schools PTA are delighted to have been selected by Roys (Wroxham) Ltd Making A Difference Locally Fund and are very grateful for the generous donation of £500 towards our much needed outdoor playscape project for Colman Junior School. After many years fundraising we are now in a position to order the equipment and hope to have everything installed in time for the start of the new term in SeptemberSusan ChegeyChair of Colman school PTA

The donation was made possible through the Making A Difference Locally Scheme, of which Roys is a member. Money is put into Roys' MADL fund based on sales of selected grocery products sold in Roys stores and then used to help local charities and good causes. More information about the fund is available on our Charity & Community page, and if you would like to be considered for the MADL fund please contact [email protected] telling us a bit about your charity or project and how you would like help.

Roys is pleased to announce the donation of £500 to Coltishall Primary School towards creating an outdoor learning & wildlife area. The school approached Roys with a request for a donation towards their £5000 target and aims for the area to help develop a multitude of skills delivered outdoors, all which have proven benefits to children, along with opportunities to the pupils and community, especially to those that come from less privileged backgrounds.

Roys of Wroxham Store manager Darren Coles visited the school and met with 5 of the school's “Eco warriors” and Annabel Goodman to present the cheque for £500 in a morning assembly. Darren explained to the children about many of the charities Roys supports and how happy he was to be helping such a worthwhile project.

It was great to meet with the children and staff at Coltishall Primary School to present them with the £500 donation. We are very happy that we can help with this project within our local community. We hope the school is successful in raising the rest of the funds they need to complete the work for their outside learning area.Darren ColesStore manager at Roys of Wroxham

We are extremely grateful for the generous donation made by Roys towards our outdoor learning. This project means a great deal to the teachers and children in our school. We greatly value outdoor learning and want to create areas within our school grounds that teach respect for wildlife, curiosity in the natural world and offer quiet areas for reflectionMrs WardDeputy head of Coltishall Primary School

The donation was made possible through the Making A Difference Locally Scheme, of which Roys is a member. Money is put into Roys' MADL fund based on sales of selected grocery products sold in Roys stores and then used to help local charities and good causes. More information about the fund is available on our Charity & Community page, and if you would like to be considered for the MADL fund please contact [email protected] telling us a bit about your charity or project and how you would like help.

Ed Roy, managing director of Roys (Wroxham) Ltd was delighted to present Sophie Mayes, Norfolk corporate fundraiser for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) with a cheque for £15,053 raised from the sale of 5p carrier bags throughout 2018.

This £15,053 brings the grand total raised for the Nook Appeal, Roys’ chosen charity of the year, to £27,377.87. This money will be used to help continue the construction of the nook, a new children’s hospice for Norfolk situated in at a five-acre woodland site in Framingham Earl, five miles south of Norwich. The nook will transform children’s palliative care for Norfolk, helping EACH meet the increased demand for their services.

It has been truly wonderful to be able to donate such a large amount of money to the nook appeal, it is all thanks to our customers that have supported events and purchased 5p carrier bags throughout 2018. We know the money is going to a very worthwhile cause and we wish EACH all the best in finding the remaining £1.5million to complete the hospiceEd RoyManaging Director

We rely on voluntary donations for the majority of our income, so support from businesses across Norfolk is really important. We’d like to say a massive thankyou to Roys for choosing us as their charity for the last year. It’s been a brilliant year working with the whole of the Roys team.Sophie MayesE.A.C.H Corporate Fundraiser

Roys will continue to support EACH with its sister company Highway garden & Leisure having chosen them as its charity of the year. The nook is being constructed very close to the store and the staff are all keen to support the charity when and where they can.

This year each Roys store has chosen a charity of the year, this means that more charities will benefit from the 5p carrier bag sales rather than just one. Along with EACH these charities are as follows, BEAT (eating disorders), SERV (Norfolk blood bikes), ASD Helping Hands, Muscular Dystrophy UK, East Anglian Air Ambulance, SESAW (Suffolk and Essex small animal welfare), Big C, Leukaemia UK and Nelson’s Journey.