Majestic, the UK’s largest specialist wine retailer, has rounded off its 45th birthday year in style by awarding £45,000-worth of grants to dozens of smaller charities, community groups and school projects across the country.
A total of 38 worthy causes in all four corners of the UK will benefit from Majestic’s 45th Birthday Grants, including local charities, hospices, community supermarkets, children’s play areas, Scout groups, and resettlement projects for homeless people. Grants range from £500 for the Dunsop Bridge Community Play Area in Clitheroe, up to £1,800 for St Michael’s Hospice in Harrogate, which supports people affected by terminal illness.
The early Christmas presents are being distributed by The Majestic Charitable Foundation, the charity that Majestic set up in 2024 to help it support causes close to the hearts of colleagues working across the business. The Foundation launched with three main national charity partners – The Brain Tumour Charity, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and Child Bereavement UK – but also committed to doing more in the communities it serves from its 216 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and Jersey.
As part of that pledge, the Majestic Charitable Foundation board went out to Majestic’s 1,500 colleagues in June, asking them to nominate local causes they would like the Foundation to support financially. The Foundation was inundated with suggestions, many of which came from colleagues who had personal connections to local charities in their area. Following a tough selection process, the Foundation board selected 38 causes to benefit from the £45,000-worth of awards – all of which will receive their early Christmas presents this week.
More than two thirds of the £45,000 kitty was raised by Majestic colleagues during September and October after taking part in the ‘Majestic Miles’ charity challenge. The business-wide initiative saw the retailer’s intrepid teams cover 45,000 miles in the space of just 45 days by walking, running, hiking, cycling, swimming, rowing and kayaking their way to the mammoth total. Colleagues threw themselves into their fundraising efforts, tackling individual challenges including climbing Ben Nevis and Mount Snowdon, running marathons dressed as wine bottles, rowing the River Thames, competing in the Sandman triathlon, and even completing an epic 174-mile Camino de Santiago trail from Porto to Santiago de Compostela.
Jacqui Rouse, group people director at Majestic Wine Group and Trustee of The Majestic Charitable Foundation, said: “Majestic’s colleagues are incredibly passionate about supporting charities in their communities, so we are delighted to be giving away £45,000 to a host of worthy causes across the country as part of our 45th birthday celebrations.
“When we went out to our people to ask for their nominations, we were inundated with so many heartfelt stories from colleagues who have been personally impacted by smaller, local charities in their regions. The Trustees had the very difficult job of whittling that list down, but we are immensely proud to be supporting 38 different causes and helping to fund the brilliant work they do in their communities every day.”
