A BRIGHT future for a new charity and supermarket partnership was kick-started over the weekend with an in-store fundraiser.

Customers at Sainsbury’s in Oxford Road, Stratton, last month decided the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust charity Brighter Futures would be its chosen fundraising partner for the year.

The charity is dedicated to raising money to equip the new radiotherapy unit at Great Western Hospital.

Representatives from the charity joined Sainsbury’s colleagues over the weekend to launch the fundraising with a day of competitions and fun.

A book sale, tombola, lucky wine dip and Brighter Futures T-shirts were some of the items pulling in cash on the day in North East Swindon.

The estimated amount raised stands at £330, with final calculations still to be made. The T-shirts are still on sale at the store for a minimum donation of £7 and are available in all sizes from the customer service desk.

Jennifer Green, of Brighter Futures, said: “We’re hoping the partnership will help raise awareness of the radiotherapy appeal and will help us provide cancer care services locally.”

Val Atwill, store manager at Sainsbury’s, said: “We’re really looking forward to working with Brighter Futures over the next year and the team have some great ideas for fundraising.”

The Sainsbury’s Local Charity of the Year scheme is in its seventh year and this year was the first edition whereby the supermarket giant allowed its customers to choose who its partner should be.

In May, Brighter Futures launched its radiotherapy appeal, a campaign to raise £2.9m to equip a dedicated radiotherapy unit at the Great Western Hospital.

Last year, 700 patients from Swindon and Wiltshire were forced to make daily 70- mile round trips to Oxford’s Churchill Hospital, with the average treatment time taking between four and seven weeks.

An average of 3,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every year at the hospital.