Six groups in Leicestershire share £12,500 funding boost thanks to Central England Co-operative

Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 10/04/2017


Six projects in Leicestershire are celebrating after sharing over £12,500 in the latest payout from Central England Co-operative’s Community Dividend Fund.

Great Glen Methodist Church, Thorpe Acre Residents Association, Oadby Owls Hawks Under 11s, Ratby Allotments Association, Woodside Animal Centre RSPCA Leicestershire Branch, and 1st Ratby Scouts were all handed grants, with a total of £52,000 handed out to 26 good causes across 16 counties.

Great Glen Methodist Church was handed the maximum grant of £5,000 which will be spent to pay for a set of new chairs to help benefit a range of community activities that operate from the church.

Janet Webb, from the church, said: “We are immensely grateful to Central England Co-operative Society for the very generous grant from their Community Dividend Fund. Our church takes its commitment to the local community very seriously.

“For some time we have felt the need to update the original chapel to make it more suitable for present day worship, but also as a welcoming venue for such community gatherings as meetings and concerts and the like.

“Because the building is listed, we have had to spend extra on a type of chair that satisfies the requirements of the conservation bodies. This grant has removed the worry of the extra expense and has been a great encouragement to us. It will help us to go on serving the community as we feel called to do.”

Ratby Allotments Association received £4,500 for raised beds that will be used to help less able-bodied residents to take part in gardening activities.

Dr Andrew Simmonds, Chairman of Ratby Allotments Association said: “We are delighted to receive the grant from Central England Co-operative.  It will be used to refurbish raised beds and the surrounding area at their allotment site, which will enable less mobile residents to share in the benefits of using an allotment.”

A total of £1,820 has been awarded to 1st Ratby Scouts to pay for a new camping stove and tents. This will allow the whole group to head out on camps together – something they have been unable to do until now.

Woodside Animal Centre RSPCA Leicestershire Branch will use a £1,000 grant  to pay for dog agility equipment to help rehabilitate and exercise the animals.

Rebecca Lewis, from the centre, said: “This equipment is a vital part of our community programme throughout Leicestershire and Rutland. “Our dog agility demonstrations help raise awareness of the centre and it also help us to promote responsible pet ownership in the community by encouraging members of the public to bond with and exercise their dogs outdoors.”

Thorpe Acre Residents Association has been handed £500 to pay for a raised planter and new plants in a bid to boost a well-used area of the community.

Oadby Owls Hawks Under 11s will be showcasing their footballing skills with a brand new kit thanks to a £600 grant.

Grants of between £100 and £5,000 are handed out every three months to a wide range of applicants.

The fund guarantees that at least one per cent of the Society’s trading profit is reinvested in local communities in a bid to help projects to thrive across its trading area of 16 counties from the Midlands to the east coast.

Martyn Cheatle, Chief Executive of Central England Co-operative, said: “I would like to urge all of our members to get in touch and put forward a community cause close to their heart for the Community Dividend scheme.”

People can apply for funding by visiting https://communities.centralengland.coop/ or heading in store to pick up an application form.

Potential applicants have to have been a Central England Co-operative member for six months, the project should be in the trading area of a Central England Co-operative store and all applications will need a referee.

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.

Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop


Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with projected gross sales of £958million for 2016/17. The Society recently celebrated being named Leading Co-operative of the Year 2016 by Co-operatives UK. The Society’s principal areas of activity are food, funeral services, and property. Central England Co-operative has more than 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2017.
Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities including Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.
Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.
Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop

For more information visit http://www.centralengland.coop follo,w Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative

Rob Smyth – PR officer - Central England Co-operative - 01543 414140
Email – publicrelations@centralengland.coop