John Lewis Aberdeen investing in local talent

The arrival of spring has seen a significant amount of community activity for John Lewis in Aberdeen as a number of projects have been progressed in recent weeks. Robert Garnish, Operations Manager at the store, and board member for SBC (Grampian), explained that all of the activity had been under the umbrella of education and youth development which was the strategic direction set for the store’s community activity in 2007.  “As a business we have a long history of proactive corporate social responsibility but at a local level we have decided to focus our community involvement on the world of education and the development of people’s talents at a young age,” he said.

Already in partnership with two schools in Aberdeen, Northfield and Harlaw Academies, John Lewis has just completed the formal signing of another link, this time to a primary school, Kittybrewster, which is situated only a mile from the store. The agreement will support the school’s Eco Council in delivering some of it’s objectives whilst two graduate trainees in the store have project managed the design and delivery of a new “healthy eating” tuckshop for the school. Later in the year a Partner (as employees of John Lewis are known) will be redecorating the wall above the school’s reading corner with a mural designed by one of the pupils in a recent competition.

Across the city at Northfield Academy, the partnership with John Lewis helped see the realisation of a project which has been building since the spring of last year. The S5/S6 Community Sports Leader class at the school hosted an Aberdeen-wide secondary school conference at the Aberdeen Exhibition Centre. With the theme of citizenship and respect, each invited school was asked to prepare a short workshop presentation on what pupils had done to promote the theme throughout the school. These workshops were complemented by keynote addresses from Bob Keiller (CEO of Production Services Network), Alex Gauld (Business Support Manager for SBC Grampian) and Robert Garnish from John Lewis. Pam Calder, Community Liaison Co-ordinator at John Lewis said, “we have been working with Northfield Academy for over a year and with the Sports Leader class in particular. I am delighted that the coaching and business advice that John Lewis has been able to offer the pupils has supported them to deliver such a ground-breaking and successful event.”

At other end of the educational spectrum, the store has also been involved with the School of Education at Aberdeen University where a bursary fund has been set up to support three £1000 per year undergraduate scholarships which will be available to students studying primary education at the University, provided that they attended school in either Aberdeen City or Shire. “We believe that the fund is a way of complementing the work that we are already doing with the city’s schools and will help to ensure that there is strong local support for those wishing to develop their careers in the educational field in the coming years,” Robert Garnish commented.

Myra Pearson, Head of School of Education at the University of Aberdeen added “Scholarships are hugely beneficial to students, often alleviating some of the financial burden of university life which can be a major concern.  The University of Aberdeen actively seeks opportunities to work closely with local organisations to create scholarships and these three entrance scholarships which have been established with John Lewis are a welcome addition to our portfolio. We actively encourage our students to contribute to the community in which they are learning. The John Lewis Scholarship will allow the recipient to develop in their studies, through their engagement with the organisation.”