A YORK department store has donated £3,000 to three charities in the city.

John Lewis at Vangarde shopping centre at Monk’s Cross on the outskirts of the city has a Community Matters Scheme making donations to local charities every quarter with £3,000 available to split three ways between local worthy causes.

Most recently they have donated to SASH York supporting youth homelessness in the city as well as a womens refuge and a local bereavement support charity.

The £1,000 will be enough for SASH to provide 54 nights of safe accommodation for a young person facing a homelessness crisis.

Meanwhile the IDAS Womens Refuge has chosen to use their £1,000 support to help them continue to offer emergency accommodation for people fleeing domestic abuse.

A spokesman for the charity said: “The money means we can keep people safe and support them to make their own decisions.”

The third charity to received a £1,000 cheque was Cruse Bereavement York and North Yorkshire Area.

The John Lewis donation will fund their referral telephone line for a year.

John Lewis in York reopened on June 25 having been temporarily closed since March 24 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Prior to that work had been going on for more than three weeks to get the store ready.