A GENEROUS supermarket employee who strives to “make Colchester a happier place” has been given a royal seal of approval from the Queen.

Linda Dumbrell is a staff member at Waitrose and Partners, in St Andrews Gardens, where she acts as the store’s Community Matters Champions.

Within her role she works closely with a range of charities and non-profit organisations, including Colchester Foodbank and Home-Start.

She is particularly passionate about helping combat food poverty within the city and helping struggling families put food on the table.

Back in 2020, shortly before the first coronavirus lockdown, Linda also helped facilitate a visit from Colchester care home resident Ellie.

Gazette:

Along with her dedicated team members, she gave Ellie a day to remember as she help her shop and treated her to a glass of bubbly and some tasty cake.

Linda has now been awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for 2022 after being nominated by her colleagues and charity bosses.

She has received the honour in recognition of the selfless and inspiring work she does within the community work and for Waitrose’s Give A Little Love campaign.

Linda Dumbrell, partner at Waitrose Colchester, said: “I am incredibly proud and humbled to have received this award for my community work in Colchester, especially for my work in tackling food poverty.

“During the pandemic I created bespoke shopping crates to not only make it easier for customers to donate to food banks and Home-Start, but to ensure these charities were receiving the items they needed most.

“This award just goes to show how much the charities and people we work with appreciate what we do. I love what I do and long may it continue.”

Christopher Layton, deputy branch manager at Waitrose Colchester, said he was thrilled to see Linda’s hard work recognised by the Queen.

He added: “Humble and compassionate - Linda’s endeavours inspire others by illustrating simple ways for everyone to give back and share acts of kindness.

“Her green crate initiative has proven phenomenally successful and she has since adapted the crates to support Home-Start, which provides essential products to families in need.”