Community Hero: Pam Abbott

Pam is the Community Champion for the Morrisons store at Junction 31 in Wakefield and was nominated by Rachel McKimm, director of the Career Cabin in Castleford, which is a trusted partner of the Tigers Community Foundation.

As part of her role, Pam works tirelessly on behalf of the supermarket brand to support the vulnerable and those in need throughout the West Yorkshire area, often going above the call of duty to personally support a wide cross-section of people in the Five Towns district plus further afield to the likes of Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield.

“We work with everybody from the homeless to the elderly, supporting food banks and charities – you name it really, we don’t have categories,” says Pam.

“Rachel at the Career Cabin does some really great work with the local homeless, trying to put them up in hotels and support them. That’s how I got to know her and she’ll call me to see if there’s anything we can do to help. I’ve got a modest budget to work with and we do our best to share it out as best we can. It might be giving them Morrisons vouchers, food donations, even a microwave at one point.

“For the wider community, we sometimes have damaged cat or dog food which I make sure goes to the local shelters, all sorts really. I definitely think Morrisons are leading the way amongst the supermarkets for this kind of thing.

“They’re really good, they give me the freedom to make my own decisions on who we support and I really hate saying no to people, so we always try our very best to work something out.

“As a company, we’ve donated more than £10 million in food items to food banks nationwide so that community spirit is definitely a big part of our company and personally it’s something I find really rewarding.”

As our latest Community Hero, Pam has been rewarded with hospitality to a future Castleford Tigers match at The Mend-A-Hose Jungle, a personal video message from a Castleford player and a signed Tigers shirt, all courtesy of club sponsors Hannafin Contractors.

Rachel McKimm, director at the Career Cabin, added: “Pam always tries her hardest to help those in need without making a judgement or asking any questions. She has been donating to The Cabin to help us to support some of the most vulnerable in our community since Christmas time, going above and beyond, always with a smile on her face and a friendly welcome to everyone she comes across.

“She always adds the personal touch by calling us if she comes across any goods that she thinks would be useful, thinking about the individual’s personal circumstances and coming up with solutions to food poverty and cooking restrictions, donating vouchers and even a microwave for those that are struggling. Pam truly deserves a special treat!”