THE winner of a supermarket charity contest has thanked all of the people who voted for it.
Each month, every branch of the food chain Waitrose is given £1,000 to distribute between three good causes based nearby.
Each shopper then gets a green token to drop into the box of the cause they most want to back. The cash is then distributed proportionately, based on number of votes.
The latest winner in its Berkhamsted branch was the town’s branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, which got £416.
They were up against the Dacorum division of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association, which got £302, and Aylesbury and Halton branch of the Royal Air Forces Association, which got £282.
John Gardener, vice-chairman for Berkhamsted’s RNLI, said: “We were very happy when the people of Berkhamsted chose us.
“We think we did quite well, considering we were up against two fairly big national competitors that a lot of people know about.”
But he said he wasn’t sure if the RNLI would have won if it had been up against Help for Heroes.
As well as winning the supermarket contest in March, Berkhamsted’s RNLI made more than £2,500 in street and house-to-house collections in April.
Shoppers chose between Aldbury Pre-school, Happy Days Pre School and Berkhamsted Community Playgroup last month.
The first two wanted to improve their outdoor play areas, and the third wanted to improve its library. The winner will be announced shortly.