Eastbourne railway workers support families in need with Easter egg donation

Staff at Eastbourne station gave families a special treat this Easter after having received a generous donation of chocolate eggs from Morrisons.

The supermarket gave Southern railway workers some 200 Easter eggs in recognition of their roles as key workers during the virus outbreak.

Southern staff decided they wanted to bring some cheer to families in need by distributing some of these eggs to an Eastbourne charity close to their hearts, Embrace, which supports children with disabilities and special needs. Dozens of eggs were also given to Eastbourne Foodbank.

Eastbourne Conductor Manager Jamie Cleary, 54, of Hurst Green, said: “It’s nice to spread some joy and know that some of these eggs are going to families in lockdown. We’re hugely grateful to the staff at Morrisons. It’s great to be recognised as key workers."

Jamie, who has worked on the railway for 19 years, handed out eggs to everyone at Eastbourne station including cleaners, ticket gate staff, platform colleagues, ticket office workers, train crew, shunters and even the police.

Kim Hatcher-Davies, Community Champion at Morrisons in Eastbourne, said: “We wanted to support fellow key workers because we value the job they do in keeping the nation moving. We’re feeding the nation and they’re moving them.”

Becky Whippy, CEO and Co-Founder of Embrace, said: “The donation of eggs came out of the blue, but we have a long-term partnership with Southern and they have been incredibly generous. We’re very grateful for everything they do to help us support the kids.”

In recent years, Southern colleagues have donated thousands of pounds to Embrace. Money has been raised through a special farewell tour of the Class 442 train, a book exchange at Eastbourne station and fundraising events organised by staff. In 2016, Embrace was chosen as one of Southern’s two corporate charities. 

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