A sporting chance

John Lewis has long helped foster the outside interests of its staff by supporting them emotionally and financially. And now the department store operator is supporting Olympic hopefuls too.

The initiative is part of Partners in Sport, an initiative that encourages its employees - known as ‘partners’, as they each own a share of the business - and their family members to become more active.

Launched in November 2008 the scheme comprises three tiers: Discovering Sport, Coaching in Sport and Succeeding in Sport.

“It was set up with the aim of engaging partners in sport and activity in the run-up to 2012,” says Partners in Sport development manager Simon Wardell.

“The Discovering strand is about getting as many partners as possible involved,” he says. Teams of staff bid for three levels of funding - from a bronze award of £1,000 to the gold award of £5,000.

So far the company has approved 315 bids worth around £400,000 for staff to do everything from fitness classes in local stores to completing the Three Peaks challenge.

As part of Coaching in Sport, the retailer hopes to fund up to 1,000 coaching places and already has 170 staff signed up and in training for their coaching qualifications.

However, it is with Succeeding in Sport that staff could win off the shopfloor. The third strand supports partners or their close relatives with a £5,000 goods and services agreement over 12 months. Seven applicants were supported last year and this year’s 12 have just been announced.

“It’s not the highest paid industry,” says Wardell. “So when you have an individual in the family and are looking to support them, the goods and services agreement has proven to be invaluable.”

Kate Walker is a 21-year-old pharmacy student at Bath University who has put her studies on hold with the aim of representing Great Britain in the under 63kg judo category at the 2012 Olympics.

She accessed the funding through her mother - fruit and vegetable section manager Catherine Walker - who works at the Waitrose store in Droitwich, Worcestershire, and has been a John Lewis partner for 27 years.

“John Lewis’s sponsorship has been an absolute lifeline, paying for flights and accommodation and providing meal vouchers once a month,” Kate Walker says. “My mum has been part of John Lewis for a lot of her life and for me to get these benefits too is amazing.”