Chelmsford charity Sanctus wins Community Heroes support

A Chelmsford charity that supports some of the city’s most vulnerable people has been awarded a haul of building materials to improve its facilities.

Sanctus, based on Broomfield Road, has won £1,000 to spend at Selco through our Community Heroes campaign.

The charity provides food, a community space, companionship, healthcare and one-to-one support to people in need, including the homeless, those in addiction, the elderly and the isolated.

Charity leaders said the materials would be used to improve the communal areas within its main building.

Emma Hughes, Sanctus CEO, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to win this support from Selco.

“We are a small but vital charity that began 13 years ago by offering food to people in the evening from a cafe. Within a few weeks the decision was made to provide an all-day service for the rough sleeping community and the charity grew from there, helping people who have nowhere else to turn.

“We have learnt a tremendous amount over the years as demand has increased. We could not have had such a great impact without the help of so many amazing supporters - and it's wonderful to add Selco to that list.”

Emma and the team will visit our Chelmsford store, on Chelmsford Trade Park, to select its materials.

The award-winning Community Heroes programme has been running for five years – and this edition is the biggest ever, with a stunning £57,500 on offer to good causes across the county.

As well as 40 monthly prizes of £1,000, there is also a top prize of £10,000 in cash on offer to an overall winner, £5,000 for a runner-up and £2,500 for third place.

Simon Humpage, Head of Multi-Channel Marketing at Selco, said: “We have supported some incredible good causes through Community Heroes this year – and Sanctus is another very worthy winner.

“Sanctus works hard to build relationships and trust with its service users to help people build a more positive future.”