Waitrose has launched an e-gift card to help NHS volunteers shop for elderly, vulnerable and anyone self-isolating during the Coronavirus crisis.
Those who are unable to leave and venture out to the shops can buy a volunteer shopping e-gift card online, which is then emailed directly to friends, neighbours and any volunteers to use on their behalf in Waitrose stores across the UK.
The card can be loaded with £10 denominations up to a maximum of £500. The voucher has been designed to help provide those most in need with a safe, contact-free way to get others to pay for their shopping, without having to take cash out or share any personal bank details.
Customers will also have online access to check the remaining balance of their e-gift card to keep track of any spending.
How to get a Waitrose volunteer shopping card?
You can either go into store, if able, to pick up a gift card or order one online and have it posted or sent on to volunteers.
Customers can also have it sent to themselves and then emailed to friends, family, neighbours and volunteers for them to use in Waitrose stores.
To find your nearest Waitrose store, use the store locater or visit www.waitrose.com to purchase one online.
This follows the government’s recruitment drive for NHS volunteers to help those in self-isolation with essential day-to-day tasks like helping people get essentials from shops, picking up prescriptions and essential medical deliveries.
Bérangère Michel, executive director of customer service at the John Lewis Partnership said: "We are pleased to be able to support our customers and the nation’s brilliant army of volunteers during these unprecedented times."
"Local communities have really rallied around those unable to get to the shops themselves and we want to make it as simple as possible for kind-hearted volunteers to get essential groceries to them."
Over the Easter weekend, Waitrose and John Lewis gave away 50,000 boxes of Easter eggs and chocolates to NHS workers battling the coronavirus outbreak.
Fifty-one Waitrose shops gifted chocolates donated from John Lewis, which included truffles and mini Easter eggs, to NHS staff when they visit the shops from Good Friday up until the Easter weekend.
The Waitrose branches have been chosen because of proximity to NHS hospitals, with shops based across London, Dorset, Hampshire, Northumberland and the West Midlands.
