Our Filton store's community champion David Thomas has become such a well-known figure in local Facebook groups that some of his customers have started calling him Mr Facebook Man because they see him so often in their news feeds!
David works hard to maintain a high profile so that local groups, charities and good causes hear about the sort of help he's able to offer – giving his own time, securing donations from the store and working on larger grants with our charity, the Asda Foundation.
He said: "I have been in post for nearly four years now so wasn't here at the start of the community programme. But I have worked in and supported the local community for a while now. Prior to working at Asda I produced a community newspaper but I was looking for something else to do and when I saw a Community Champion role at my local Asda I jumped at it!
"Thankfully all the groups I first worked with appear to have survived the pandemic and are still operating and I continue to work with them.
"When I first started in the role I was already a volunteer at the local food bank and the first thing I did was introduce a trolley on the shop floor for customers to make donations. My relationship with the food bank has continued to grow and through my outreach hours I have continued to support them and now run the outlet at my local church."
David shares many of his updates on social media.
He said: "By using social media, particularly Facebook, I have been able to reach out to the community and everything I do goes into the local Facebook groups!
"It is nice when customers stop me in store as they recognise me from my Facebook posts – some even call me Mr Facebook Man!"
He said: "I think that they see our support as an absolutely vital part of what they do. They have got to know me now and they know that my support can be relied upon.
Some of the people that I have worked with were already friends and some have become friends. I am sure that they see me as someone who thinks the same way that they do and these friendships will endure."
David often teams up with our other community champions from across Bristol for fundraising and awareness-building events.
He said: "The level of support from the other Bristol community champions has been magnificent and we are all huge friends. Every October for Tickled Pink we do what we call our Store Tour and hold an event in each of the five stores and we all come along and help.
"Every Friday I get together with Susan, the Community Champions at Longwell Green, and Caroline, who's Asda Patchway's community champion, and we volunteer together at either another food bank or at Headway, a local brain injury charity. We support each other with school visits and are always available for advice and support for each other. We have become a real team!
"Ten years is a significant milestone, and I hope that the Community Programme continues in its present form and us community champions can continue to make a real difference."
