Sainsbury’s Halstead has officially launched a partnership with its new Local Charity of the Year, The Empire Theatre Trust.

The Empire Theatre Trust was chosen by Sainsbury’s customers through a public vote in store and online in June.

The charity will now receive a year’s worth of support through fundraising and awareness raising from the store.

Representatives from the charity joined Sainsbury’s colleagues over the weekend to kick start the partnership by holding a raffle, Tombola and Book Sale, raising £192 for the charity.

Martin Laurence, Chairman at The Empire Theatre Trust, said: “Thank you to everyone who came to support us at Sainsbury’s Halstead over the weekend.

"We’re really excited to have been chosen as the store’s new Local Charity of the Year as the partnership will help us to raise our profile in the town and support us to share information about the local events we hold in the town." 

Hayley Smith, Store Manager at Sainsbury’s Halstead, added: “We had a very successful launch for our new Local Charity of the Year, The Empire Theatre Trust. I’d like to thank all of our customers for their support on the day and can’t wait to see how the partnership develops over the next year. ”

The Local Charity of the Year scheme is now in its ninth year and has raised over £13 million to support local charities since 2009.