A COMMUNITY shop in Neston has donated £23,000 to local groups, voted for by residents in the area.

Kris McFarlane was made redundant in 2020 and used all of his redundancy pay to open up Neston's first and only community shop, Shop 4 Neston.

The aim of the shop is to give the people of Neston an outlet to donate and buy items to help the community.

From donations and purchases, Shop 4 Neston raised £23,000 in 2023, topping 2022's total of £20,000, which has been distributed to local community groups, voted for by the people of Neston.

Speaking to the Globe, Kris said: "As for this year's community donations, we as a whole, myself and my dedicated, talented team of volunteers work so hard throughout the year to raise as much money through the shop to help all of the amazing community groups and societies that help make Neston the vibrant community-led town we are.

"As Neston's only community shop, we are so proud to be working and raising funds for Neston.

"Our ethos is Neston can be a little forgotten when it comes to support for local groups, charities and societies which do so much for our community, for people of all ages and we hope that we can help this continue for many years to come.

"We would like to wholeheartedly thank the whole community for supporting us with donations and purchases throughout 2023 and we hope that the wonderful people of Neston continue to support us in 2024."

The £23,000 will be distributed as follows:

  • Neston Community & Youth Centre £5,000
  • Neston Players £5,000
  • Neston Nomads FC £3,000
  • Ness Hedgehog Rescue £3,000
  • Friends of Lees Lane Ponds £1,000
  • Little Actors Theatre £1,000
  • Dee Sea Scouts, Neston Swimming Club, Neston Flower Society, West Vale Park Zip Wire, Neston Primary School PTA, St. Winefreds Primary School PTA, The Teapot Cafe, Neston Cyber Centre £500

Cheryl Barker said: "On behalf of Neston Players, thank you so much Kris for everything you and your team do.

"You are selfless and work so tirelessly for the benefit of our community and we respect and admire you so much. We are very lucky to have you in our community."

Martin Cunningham added: "On behalf of St Winefride's Primary School Parent Association and St. Winefride's Catholic Primary School we want to give a special thank you to Kris & Shop 4 Neston for the donation.

"It's businesses like yours in our community make a huge difference to our community."

Ness Hedgehog Rescue wrote: "Wow! A huge thank you Kris to you and your volunteers and also to all the CH64 community kind enough to vote for us.

"I am still lost for words but thank you for all the work you do and the support you give to the community."

Kris is also looking for new volunteers to give up their time to help in the shop.

To contact Kris, visit Shop 4 Neston's Facebook page here.