Central England Co-op donates £43k to boost charity and community projects
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 06/07/2018
Forty projects are celebrating after sharing £43,000 in the latest payout from Central England Co-operative’s Community Dividend Fund.
A wide range of groups, organisations and charities were handed grants, with a total of £43,000 handed out to 40 good causes across 16 counties.
A variety of projects aimed at educating youngsters about healthy eating and teaching them how to cook received a funding boost.
Hepworth Pre-school, based in Towngate, Holmfirth, was handed £1,000 to pay for an outdoor cooking station and seating.
This will be used to allow youngsters to plant, wash and cook their food while being outside and learning about the environment.
Lutterworth Garage Barn will use £2,000 to support a project called ‘seed to plate’, which aims to teach children from challenging backgrounds or with learning difficulties and their families about how to grow fruit and veg and how to cook it healthily.
Another theme of the funding awards was supporting projects which try to combat isolation among the elderly.
Clifton Campville Village Hall will use £770 to support the launch of a new community coffee shop and Good Companions, which is based in Clifton, Nottingham, will use nearly £2,000 to buy equipment such as TVs, desk top games and a camcorder to help the people it supports.
West Midlands Powerchair Regional League will use over £2,000 to buy specialist testing equipment from America to ensure that everyone is playing within the rules before they head into competition.
Trans-Staffordshire, based in Stone, is a support group launched to help prevent isolation and loneliness for the transgender community.
The organisation has been handed £400 for a new laptop and printer that will allow it to provide training and support for schools and colleges across Staffordshire.
Jog Oakwood, based in Ripley, has been handed £500 to pay for items such as first aid kits, body worn torches and hi-viz jackets in an effort to get people in the community fit and active.
Brundall Allotment Association will use over £2,000 to buy a range of machinery for use at the community allotments.
Belvedere Park Football Club, based at Shobnall Park, has been handed £1,546 to pay for a new lifesaving defibrillator to be installed at its home ground.
The device will not just be available during the football season, but will be accessible through the emergency services 24/7.
Other organisations to receive funding include Scout groups and sport teams to pay for vital new equipment ranging from new tents to training kits.
Chief Executive Martyn Cheatle said: “We are delighted that these great projects and good causes have been handed a grant for the fantastic work they do in the community.
“Community Dividend Fund grants like this showcase how being a member and continuing to support Central England Co-op helps us as a Society continue to invest and fund vital projects in the local area.”
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.
People can apply for funding by visiting https://communities.centralengland.coop/
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
Picture caption: Groups from across the area celebrated being handed their grant from the Central England Co-operative Community Dividend Fund.
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 400 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 2018.
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 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 / Heather Clapton at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140
Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop