CHARITIES have until Monday to shackle the influence of more than 300 superstore employees eager to back their cause.

The Sainsbury’s Local Charity of the Year scheme is into its seventh year, and the supermarket in Oxford Road, Stratton, is letting customers choose for the first time.

The scheme has been rolled out to the majority of the chain’s stores up and down the UK and time is now running out for those charities in Swindon which are interested.

There are no requirements the charity must meet, other than that they submit their interest at the customer service desk in the supermarket before close of play on Monday.

Once a shortlist has been decided upon by the store’s hierarchy, three options will be wheeled out for customers to vote on as the charity of their choice for the next 12 months.

Val Atwill, store manager, said: “Our role is to support a local charity where we feel we can use our resources and our time to really make the difference for them.”

Last year’s chosen charity was Jubilee Gardens Project in Purton Stoke, which was set up to provide education and training for adults who experience learning difficulties.

The primary aim of the Jubilee Gardens Project – website jubileegardens.co.uk – is to teach horticultural skills, but literacy, numeracy and social skills are also taught.

There is also the opportunity for students to learn about domestic routine and personal hygiene to assist them to achieve a greater degree of independence.

And Val has made it clear the charities, as was the case with the Jubilee Gardens Project, need to be in and around Swindon, as well as being organisations that Sainsbury’s can make a real difference to with its customer base and 360-strong workforce.

“What we like about them is being able to go and support them at their venue, and equally they can come in and we provide that vehicle to help their charity,” she said.

“We are very much part of the community.

“Our customers are shopping in the community, our colleagues are living in the community and we want to support who we can in the community, to the best of our abilities.

“This is an intrinsic part of the criteria for our offer of support – keeping it local.”

Once Monday’s deadline lapses, the shortlist will be drawn up and released for voting on June 15.

Customers can vote for their preferred charity in-store as well as online at the dedicated website sainsburyslocalcharity.co.uk.

Allowing customers to vote for the charity is the store’s way to ensure the winning option is the one the customers all want to back for the full 12 months.

“We want to involve the customers and our view is making sure any decisions being taken involve as many people as possible,” said Val.

“We will get our customers to vote and ultimately it will be our customers we are asking to support the charity, so it’s only right they are involved in the process.”