As a charity that has been in operation since 1857, Grocery Aid has a long history of providing assistance to grocery workers in times of need. They offer a range of services to help with financial, emotional, and practical support.
Being a Grocery Aid partner means being part of a community that cares deeply about supporting those who work in the grocery industry. As an SME Partner of Grocery Aid, Tactical Solutions is proud to support this valuable work and to help make a difference in the lives of those who work hard to keep our grocery stores running smoothly.
Our Partnership with Grocery Aid
One of the key benefits of being a Grocery Aid partner is the opportunity to get involved with fundraising activities. The charity relies heavily on donations to fund their work, and as a partner, weâre able to contribute to this effort in a meaningful way. All through the year, a range of fundraising activities are held, from charity auctions and raffles to sponsored runs and walks. These events provide a fun and engaging way to get involved and support a great cause.
Another benefit of being a Grocery Aid partner is the sense of community that comes with it. By supporting the charity, weâre connected to a larger network of people who care about the well-being of grocery workers. This sense of connection is important, particularly in a time when so many people feel isolated and disconnected from one another. Being a member of the Grocery Aid community provides us a sense of purpose and meaning and serves as a constant reminder that there are good people out there trying their best to make the world a better place.
Perhaps the most important benefit of being a Grocery Aid partner is the knowledge that weâre a part of something that makes a real difference in the lives of others. The charity provides a range of services to grocery workers and their families, including financial grants, debt advice, and emotional support. These services are available to anyone who has worked in the grocery industry for at least five years, regardless of their current employment status. It is incredibly rewarding to know that our efforts are making a difference and helping to better the lives of others.
Grocery Aid’s dedication to offering practical support is one of the things Tactical Solutions values the most. The charity is aware that helping those in need through financial support is only one aspect of the solution. A variety of useful services are also provided by them, including career coaching, training, and guidance on childcare and housing. By offering these resources, Grocery Aid helps grocery workers in securing a brighter future for their families as well as their own.
Cathy Evans, Managing Director, commented: âBeing an SME Partner as part of the Grocery Aid Diversity and Inclusion programme has been a really important building block to enable and support Tactical Solutions in delivering against our ambition to become a better business. The scope of what makes up D&I is huge and knowing where to start, and how to formalise our thinking, engage with our colleagues, and truly make a change has been greatly assisted by our partnership with Grocery Aid.
âWe can and have learnt from Brands, big and small, from Retailers and Charities who all openly share their experiences â what has worked and what has not â to really accelerate our own learnings and see what is possible to change and what really matters to people.
The Learning Labs
Grocery Aidâs Learning Labs run once a month and cover varied topics throughout the year. These are led by Headline Partners and offer the opportunity for collaboration by other Grocery Aid Partners too.
Cathy continued: âThe monthly sessions have given us access to some amazing stories and case studies that have changed how we view the whole agenda â from the need to not worry about political correctness to the understanding and acceptance that we are all on a journey – we will get some things wrong, but the failure of our programme will be if we donât at least try and make change.
âWe all have to learn and be open to new ways of working, to be curious, to be more tolerant about what makes us all different and to understand, what is important to some may not be important to others â but that doesnât make that less relevant.
âThe topics have been so varied and it has given us real food for thought about what we can do differently in areas we had previously never consciously thought was part of the D&I agenda.â
Being a better business
Recently Tactical Solutions become B Corp accredited. Something we mark as our biggest achievement as a business to date. Whilst weâve achieved this landmark, itâs just the start of our journey of using our business as a force for good, as Cathy explains:
âTactical Solutions, as part of our B Corp commitments and desire to be a better business, has quite some way to go in the development of our D&I strategy – and one really important initiative for us, which has come out of our partnership with Grocery Aid, will be the launch of âB The Voiceâ; where we hope to encourage many of our colleagues to actively engage in our workstreams and share their experiences and thoughts on how we can improve our inclusivity, which by nature will help our diversity.
âOur Partnership with Grocery Aid has given us access to a framework that helps ensure we have governance around everything that we do. By attending the Live Event last year, we have formed several informal mentoring type relationships with some of the brands who are going to support us going forward, by talking about how they have set up and run workstreams, so we are not at a standing start.â
Being a Grocery Aid partner is a meaningful and rewarding experience. It allows Tactical Solutions to give back to a community that has given so much to us over the years. By supporting this charity weâre able to make a real difference in the lives of others, and to help ensure that our own colleagues and all grocery workers receive the support and assistance they need to thrive. We encourage anyone who is interested in getting involved with this important work to consider becoming a Grocery Aid partner, or seek out further information about the charity and the support available to them.
Together, we can make a real difference in the world.
