A shop in Fenstanton, is looking to support charities within the area by donating up to £1000, to celebrate 30 years of running the shop.

Ash’s shop, which is based in High Street, is running the event until the end of November, and has invited staff members to pick 10 community groups and charities at random to donate £100 each to.

Amit Puntambekar, owner of the shop, said: “We are celebrating our 30th anniversary of running the local shop, and the 10th year since we re-opened, after completing a million pound re-development of the business.

“We donate amounts ranging from £100 to £1,500 to various causes around the village every year, but to celebrate our 30th anniversary we wanted to do something special. I’m really big on supporting our local community, I buy my lunch from the bakery, my dinner from the butcher, and treat myself to chips every now and then from our local chip ship. I know without the local village supporting us throughout the last 30 years, we wouldn’t be here today.

“I decided that instead of one recipient receiving £1,000, we should try and make the money go as far as possible. Overall we thought it would be best to give 10 sets of £100, to any local group or social causes, and decided to run it as an ‘event’ on our Facebook page “AshsShopFenstanton”. The event will finish at the end of November, and where 10 causes or groups will be picked at random. The donations will then be processed, and be given out in December, a great Christmas present.”

Not only that, but the store has recently been rated in the ‘top 100’ independent retailers in the country.

The award, which was given by the Independent Achievers Academy, rated the store in the top 100 independent shops in the UK and Ireland.

Amit said: “This year, the judges were really impressed with our engagement within the local community. We had a free Coke-branded football giveaway to celebrate the World Cup, and, during the heatwave, we were giving away free ice creams to the kids. I don’t believe life is just about making money, but as a community retailer, we try to help and support people as much possible.”

To find out more about the store visit ‘Ash’s Shop, Fenstanton’ on Facebook.