Asda workers arrange 12th birthday surprise for super fan Hope

Twelve-year-old Hope Vere loves shopping at the Asda Chaucer Road store in Sheffield with her mum Gemma and big sister Katy ... so when the Asda team found out it was going to be her birthday they made sure she had a day to remember.

The store's community champion Joan Martin got Hope an Asda T-shirt, badge and lanyard and let her have a go on the checkouts with the help of her colleague Lisa Houcher, before giving her a birthday cake, card, goody bag, a full size shopping basket and a till roll so she could play shops at home.

Hope is non verbal and has rare genetic neurological condition. She lives close to the store and has been shopping there with her family since she was little.

Hope's mum Gemma said: "We go there at least twice a week – it's Hope's favourite place. Her face lights up when she goes there.

"She loves going there, everyone is so friendly. Hope even has an Asda till at home which is her favourite thing to play with.

"For her 12th birthday I decided to do an Asda theme so I bought loads of green balloons and banners. I emailed the store and just asked them if they could suggest anything that would make her birthday, well, more 'Asda-y'.

“Joan said for us to come and see them and it really made Hope's year. It was absolutely amazing. Hope loved going on the checkouts with Lisa, she had the time of her life and everyone was so nice to her. Lisa was really patient and engaging with Hope. I can't thank Lisa and Joan enough for what they did.

Joan said: "After Gemma contacted us we thought we'd do something special for Hope. She always waves to Lisa when she comes into store shopping so I thought Lisa should be the one to do her training on her 'first shift'.

"I have never known such a sweet sweet girl. Even though she couldn't speak, her face said it all. Colleagues had tears in their eyes and customers bought her gifts. It was an amazing morning."

Lisa, who's worked at the store for 13 years and has two children and five grandchildren herself, said: "Hope really enjoyed herself. She's a lovely girl, and to see her smile so much was really nice. I'm so glad she had a lovely birthday."

When Asda posted on Facebook there were many thousands of likes and hundreds of comments wishing her a happy birthday and thanking Asda employees Joan and Lisa for making her day so special. Comments included:

• "Asda you really made a big effort to help Hope have a memorable birthday. Chaucer store you went above and beyond. Hope's big smile says it all."

• "Asda really is very customer friendly, no matter what store you shop in. What a beautiful smile on that young lady’s face👏"

• "Oh I LOVE 💕 this SO MUCH ... Well done Lisa, Joan and all at Chaucer Road Asda such a lovely gesture. You made Hope's year. Kindness is a wonderful thing and the nicest birthday present you could ever give her. Xxx"

• "As someone who also works in retail I can say now this is going above & beyond for your customers".

• "Let’s be honest, none of the other supermarkets would have done that for Hope. Happy belated birthday Hope. Xx 🥳🥳🥳"

• "What an amazing thing to do for Hope you just need to look at her face and that tells you everything"

• "Well done everybody concerned with this day. Being kind is Priceless. X"

• "All Asda staff are great but I particularly like Lisa. Always has a smile on her face, like a ray of sunshine."

Hope's mum Gemma commented: "Thanks again to Joan and Lisa ❤️ Hope really did have the time of her life when she worked on the checkout. She was so happy, I'm sure she'll remember it always! Such a special experience for a very special little girl, made possible by the amazing team at Chaucer Asda xxx".

Hope's story has been featured by the BBC, who've posted about her online, on Facebook and on X , as well as by viral content aggregator the Archbishop of Banterbury, who've posted it on Instagram with the caption "Fair play to Asda for making Hope's birthday one to remember 👏".

The Instagram post has had comments like "Well played Asda, well played", "This is a really wonderful message", and this one from Gemma: "This is my little girl ❤️❤️ she had the best time ever".

The story has also been posted on TikTok by news page Crime and News Daily, getting a really warm reaction with comments like: "This is just wonderful, Well done to Asda, for making her birthday really special ♥️", "thank you asda for putting a smile on the face of this angel ❤️", "My daughter is 10 and non verbal these stories truly give me hope literally 🤗 well done Asda I hope she had the best day!"

And local blog account Sheffield Online (280k followers) posted about Hope on Facebook – getting comments from customers who recognise and appreciate the service they get at Asda from Lisa: "Ooh that's sweet, Lisa is always the best 🌹🌹💯", "aww lovely happy birthday ❤️she's a lovely member of staff always got a smile x", "How beautiful and Lisa is amazing 🤩"