Waitrose  supports Rotary Club ‘Kids Fun Day’

The Rotary Club of Rushden has expressed sincere thanks to Waitrose Rushden and its customers after receiving a generous £1,500 donation in support of the Rotary Club’s much‑loved Kids Fun Day, through the store’s Green Token Community Scheme.

The donation will directly support the Rotary Kids Fun Day, taking place on Wednesday 10 June, which provides a fully funded day out for some of the most disadvantaged children from local junior schools in Rushden and Higham Ferrers. Each year, the Rotary Club works with all eight local junior schools, asking them to nominate pupils who would most benefit from a special experience outside their usual circumstances.

Around 100 children will be taken by coach to Wicksteed Park in Kettering, where all transport, rides, and activities are paid for by the Rotary Club. For many of the children, this is their first ever visit to a theme park.

One Rotary member recalled a particularly moving moment from a previous event: “One young boy shook my hand and said, ‘Thank you very much – this has been the best day of my life.’ Experiences like that remind us exactly why this event matters.”

The Kids Fun Day is part of a wider programme of community initiatives supported by the Rotary Club of Rushden throughout the year. Other recent and upcoming events include the Young Musician competition, the Junior Schools Quiz, Prison? Me? No Way! at Rushden Scademy, and the School Choirs Concert to be held at the Walled Garden, Rushden Hall Park, on Saturday 13 June.

The Kids Fun Day was selected by Waitrose Rushden Community Manager, Helen Rust, as one of the three causes featured in the store’s Green Token Scheme during the first quarter of the year. Thanks to overwhelming customer support, it became the highest‑voted charity, earning the full £1,500 donation.

Rotary Club President for 2025–2026, Anton Rudgalvis, said: “This is a truly magnificent gesture from Waitrose and its customers. It demonstrates how a national organisation, working through a local store, can have a real and lasting impact on children in its community.”

The Rotary Club emphasised that community support of this kind allows them to continue creating meaningful moments for children who might otherwise miss out on opportunities many take for granted.

“If even half of the children walk away feeling that this was the best day of their lives,” a club spokesperson added, “every effort and every penny raised is more than worthwhile.”