Social Values
Helping Support Our Local Communities
Helping Support Our Local Communities
The Riverside & Florence Trusts were established in 1972 to benefit communities within which we operate; each is a registered charity. Since 2010 the trusts have supported hundreds of charities, schools, institutions and local communities with more than £2m in donations.
We have donated a massive
£2,904,471
Objectives
The Sutton Group aims to be a responsible member of the community, and favours supporting causes close to the locations in which we operate and trade.
The combined funds from our two trusts empower local communities focusing on the below objectives:
- Establish, maintain and support places of education.
- Establish, maintain, and support places providing relief for sickness and infirmity, and for the aged.
- Relieve the poverty of persons employed or formerly employed in the shoe trade.
- Provide general public benefits.
Who We Are
John Willy Johnson founded the Group with an ethos to employ as many local people as possible. On his retirement in 1972 he gifted his shareholding to set up the Riverside Trust and Florence Trust with the primary aim of supporting local charitable institutions within the Rossendale area.
The Governance system he created still underpins our charitable objectives to this day, albeit on a larger scale as the Group has expanded beyond the Rossendale Valley.
The Trusts involve current and former employees from across the group and also contain external members to help decide how best to spend this money and as a result, receive regular requests through employees as well as directly from charitable organisations and local community groups.