Central England Co-op food store makes public plea to help reunite lost cuddly toy with its owner
Posted by james brindle | Published: 17/01/2020
A Central England Co-op store in Belper has made a desperate bid to reunite a cuddly toy with its owner fearing a youngster may have been left heartbroken by the loss of their treasured friend.
The toy, nicknamed ‘Mika the monkey’ by the Strutt Street store team, was discovered by a customer over a week ago in amongst the chilled chickens and colleagues are now appealing to the public to help trace his owner.
Since being discovered Mika has been on an adventure in the store as the team have taken creative snaps to share on social media in the hope of getting him home.
Tracey Wilkinson, Customer Service Assistant at Central England Co-op in Belper, who has been looking after Mika until he is reunited with his owner, said: “Mika was discovered over a week ago now and we are desperate to trace his owners and get him home, although we have become fond of him as our temporary store mascot!
“We get lost property handed in to us all the time, from spectacles to bank cards, but there was something about this toy that has made us really want to get him home.
“We sat him on the till in the hope the owner would come back in so we could reunite them but after a few days nobody did.
“That’s when I decided to try and use the power of social media and took some photos of Mika in the store, when I wasn’t on shift, getting up to some adventures with the hope it might get shared on local social media pages.
“We all know how distraught a child can be when they lose their favourite toy as it is a real comfort to them, so we really hope we can find the owner soon.”
If you are the owner of Mika the monkey, pop into the Central England Co-op food store in Strutt Street and colleagues will be happy to host a reunion.
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 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