This month's category is sponsored by The Whitgift Centre.

The Whitgift Shopping Centre has spent more than 30 years developing its place in Croydon's heart and community.

And as shoppers continue to flock to the centre, opened in 1970 by HRH the Duchess of Kent, it has increasingly been chosen by charities and community organisations alike as a platform for reaching more than 30 million visitors every year.

So as an indispensable vehicle for fundraising of all kinds within the borough, it is apt that Whitgift bosses have made the centre an official sponsor for the Croydon Champion for Charity Award, organised by the Croydon Guardian as part of its We Think Croydon's Champion Campaign 2002.

Over the years hundreds of charities, national and local, have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds from within the centre, enabled by the enormous generosity of Whitgift shoppers.

The centre has ensured that it has never stood still or held back on looking after its users.

Some visitors today can remember the days of old when it came without a roof.

In 1988 a multi-million pound refurbishment programme transformed the 1.25 million sq ft open air centre into a completely covered, bright, and modern building.

Suddenly the Whitgift was able to provide the community with a secure, clean, warm, and dry environment, unaffected by the weather, where shoppers could meet, eat and socialise, in between visiting their choice of 160 separate stores.

The centre also prides itself on a wealth of restaurants open every day and night of the week, including level three's Auberge, specialising in Belgian cuisine and fine Belgian beers. And adding to its established customer-focused profile, this year will see the launch of a brand new Welcome Centre this month.

This new project is promising to become a hub of service providing shoppers with of information on all aspects of what's on in the Whitgift.