THE EXTRA MILE
WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT, ABDUL MAJID DIDN’T HESITATE TO HELP OUT HIS LOCAL COMMUNITY
THE Queen doesn’t hand out MBES for nothing, so when Abdul Majid, who owns the North Road Post Office and Nisa in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, was awarded the honour in January this year, it was a fitting recognition for all his charitable work.
Abdul, who has owned the store since 1983, has worked tirelessly with local and international charities including raising over £70,000 for cancer care charity Maggie’s Lanarkshire. He is also a trustee for the Sarwar Foundation, which works to improve the lives of people in Pakistan.
So it was no surprise when the pandemic hit last year that Abdul, his wife Parveen and son Umar all sprang into action to support the local community.
Vulnerable
“IT became clear very quickly that pensioners were the most vulnerable in our community,” says Abdul. “We wanted to take the stress out of the pandemic as much as possible, and to let them know they would get a regular delivery of food for however long they needed it.”
At the peak, Abdul and his staff were putting together more than 40 food parcels a day including fresh meals cooked in store as well as essentials such as milk, eggs, bread and pasta to be distributed by members of two local churches.
“People donated money to help us and a local lady, Jean Price, baked fresh goods every day to be sent out. There was no waste as people were good at telling us what they needed.”
While the pandemic was tough in many ways, it did remind local people of what their local store provided.
“People were surprised at our range of goods and services,” says Abdul. “Many would walk past us to visit a larger store, but now they shop with us. We see our regulars more often and also plenty of new faces. We noticed more people buying
National Lottery tickets too, especially those who had never played before. We’ve had around a dozen winners this year, with prizes up to £5,000. It does give people a bit of joy to know there’s been a local winner.”
North Road Post Office and Nisa is one of 44,000 retailers across the UK that sell National Lottery products.
Thousand of good causes across the UK have benefited from funding and support from The National Lottery, and during lockdown many of these organisations have been a lifeline for their local communities.
But none of it would be possible without the people who play The National Lottery, who raise £30 million every week*. In fact, during the pandemic, aside from the Government, no one has made
affected than National Lottery players.