A manager at a Pets At Home in Lancashire has been nominated for a Community Hero award for raising money for animal affected by the Ukraine war and people struggling amid a cost of living crisis.

Amy Angus from Preston is one of only a handful of people across the UK who has been shortlisted for the award at the Retail Week Awards 2023 which celebrates the role retail plays in local communities.

The community and charity manager joined Pets At Home ten years ago and has made a lasting impact on people’s lives and the community during her time.

When the crisis in Ukraine broke out, Amy launched an online fundraiser which raised over £100,000 within four weeks, which was supported by an additional £100K pledge from the business - the biggest UK fundraising campaign targeting pets impacted by the war.

Kelly Grellier, chief operating officer of Blue Cross, said: “Every conversation we have had over the past year or so, [she] demonstrate core motivation for both pets and their people. But [she] doesn’t just talk about it, [she] takes action.

“From a comment during a meeting on Ukraine, where I mentioned we were working on a national food bank solution, [she was] positive from the outset and saw the potential to work together to have a greater impact and ensure pets did not go hungry.

“[Her] focus is always centred on ensuring that what we do will definitely make the biggest difference for pets and people…

“I really hope [she] win’s this award, [she works] tirelessly to help as many people and their pets as possible nationwide and [she] never gives up because a problem is knotty, [she] keeps going with the end impact in mind.”

In response to the cost-of-living crisis, Amy was passionate about supporting people within communities who were facing the difficult decision whether they could afford to feed their pets, so she led the first UK nationwide trial of pet food banks to help keep more pets and people together in loving homes.

She helped contribute over 1,000 pallets of food to pets in need and driven 342 local community relationships between stores and charities across the UK.

Robert Kent, chief data officer, Pets at Home said: “Amy is the driving force behind all of our charitable initiatives and has had another fantastic year as charity and community manager at Pets at Home.

“A few of the highlights from the year include the successful launch our new company volunteering programme “Our Better World Pledge” days; an amazing fundraising campaign focusing on helping pets in need in Ukraine raising over £100k, and our most successful “Santa Paws” fundraiser to date that enables the Foundation to continue to be the biggest grant giver to rescues across the UK and award grants to small and large rescues and other pet charities across the UK.”

Amy is now getting ready to attend the Retail Week Awards ceremony in London on March 30 which will celebrate the standout achievements of the retail workforce over the last year.

The judges will be looking at nominations that demonstrate the positive impact retailers can have on people’s lives on a local level and that shine a light on the best brand ambassadors in their business.