Central England Co-op Belper store team reunite missing toy monkey with local youngster
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 28/01/2020
A Belper youngster was left ‘over the moon’ after colleagues at her local Central England Co-op store reunited her with her beloved cuddly toy monkey.
Two-year-old Scarlett Sellars was left smiling from ear to ear after being handed back ‘Maggie the monkey’ by the Strutt Street store team.
The toy, dubbed ‘Mika’ by the colleagues, had been discovered in amongst the chilled chickens and ever since the colleagues had been taking to social media in an effort to bring the pair back together.
Scarlett’s dad David said: “Scarlett was over the moon when she got her monkey back and she gave it a big hug and a kiss.
“She lost her cuddly toy a few weeks ago and she had been asking for it every night since. We looked everywhere but could not find it – we had almost given up hope.
“Then my wife nipped into the Central England Co-op in Strutt Street and saw the monkey sat on the till as she was paying.
“We were delighted and want to say a big thank to all the staff for going out of their way to try and reunite the toy with Scarlett.
“It was great to see the social media campaign they put together – it really showcases the great community spirit that the team from Central England Co-op have.”
Tracey Wilkinson, Customer Service Assistant at Central England Co-op in Belper, spearheaded the bid to get the toy monkey home.
She said: “The monkey was discovered a couple of weeks ago and we were desperate to trace his owners and get him home, although we did become fond of him as our temporary store mascot!
“Although we are going to miss him, we hope he and Scarlett pop in from time to time to say hello.”
Notes to editors
Picture caption 1: David with Maggie the monkey.
Picture caption 2 and 3: Scarlett reunited with Maggie the monkey.
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 the Society’s principal areas of activity being food, funeral services, travel shops, and property investment.
Central England Co-operative has over 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 2020.
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 several charities including Dementia UK 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 www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative
Rob Smyth and James Brindle at Central England Co-operative on 01543 421390
Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop