A SUPERMARKET branch has raised money for a local youth project.

Aldi in Prudhoe raised £1,132.72 for Prudhoe Youth Project at its store before the Easter holidays.

Michelle Murphy, an Aldi store assistant from Prudhoe, said: "We felt passionate about raising money for a local children's charity, and we could only achieve the amount that we did with the help of our customers." 

Prudhoe Youth Project is an initiative created to increase and provide a range of activities for young people in the Prudhoe area.

An Easter hamper raffle was held at Aldi. "We drew the raffle the Friday before Easter as we wanted the prize winners to claim their prize before the holidays."

Hexham Courant: CHARITY: Two of the children involved with Prudhoe Youth Project, with some of the Aldi staff. Image: AldiCHARITY: Two of the children involved with Prudhoe Youth Project, with some of the Aldi staff. Image: Aldi

Michelle said Aldi provide local employment opportunities with the majority of staff living in Prudhoe, but the store wants to play a more active part in the community in the future.

"We want to participate in more local charities in the future. We do regular litter picks - Prudhoe is a beautiful town and we want to limit our impact on the town to improve the public's perception of big supermarkets and connect to customers and the community more."

She added: "The youth project gives access to help and support, and there's a hub for older children to talk to someone if they need to. They do activities - they went to Kielder and did rafting over Easter."

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Gemma Nixon, Youth Development Worker at the project, said: "Prudhoe Youth Project is overjoyed with the support from the community and Aldi through their recent fundraiser. We are a relatively new youth project but are now the only provider of youth work in the town. Our sessions are growing each week and we continue to see growing numbers at our youth clubs and requests for one-to-one support. This funding will help us greatly as we continue to support young people in Prudhoe. We would like to thank the staff team at Aldi for their hard work and support."

"The whole Aldi team worked hard to promote it," Michelle said. "It's such a worthwhile charity to support. It's a safe haven to give children advice and activities from small children up to older teenagers."