When Ramsgate Asda assistant manager Bob Ellender was given a staff bonus for his work during the Covid crisis his first thought was how he could help others.
The dad-of-two, from Ramsgate, has worked continually throughout the pandemic and says he has seen how tough it has become for many people.
Asda bosses have rewarded their staff with an extra week’s pay for all and one-off payments to managers and assistant managers.
Bob used part of his bonus to buy a huge trolley of shopping and donated it to the Salvation Army.
The 47-year-old, who lost a close friend to coronavirus at the start of the pandemic, said: “I’m lucky as my children are grown up and both myself and my wife work, and have both worked through the crisis with me at the store and my wife at a school.
“We are in an area with deprivation and you can sometimes see that in-store and I just wanted to help out anyone going through a tough time.
“We have come into contact with families where people have been furloughed and taken them on as temporary staff and then out of the blue Asda gave us this bonus.
“I’d seen a post by (Mayor) Raushan Ara appealing for help for the Salvation Army so I got in contact and asked if I could help.
“Then she rang me to say she was in the car park so I did a bit of a supermarket sweep and filled up the trolley. It wasn’t about being noticed, I just wanted to give something back. With all that is going on, there are families suffering more than me and my family and I just wanted to do something.”
Raushan said: “Bob very kindly donated a substantial amount of food to the Salvation Army foodbank, with some of his bonus.
“On behalf of our community, I would like to say a huge thank you to Bob for his very kind gesture.”
