Central England Co-operative urges customers to ‘Do Just One Thing’ and make a difference
Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 06/12/2016
Going out and supporting the communities that we serve forms a major part of celebrating Christmas at Central England Co-operative.
From volunteering to helping our corporate charity Newlife, everyone involved with the Society will be ensuring they ‘Do Just One Thing’ this festive season.
Here are just a few examples of what Central England Co-operative will be doing this festive season to try and make a difference.
Volunteering
Colleagues will be taking on a wide range of volunteering activities this Christmas.
Volunteering will include making festive decorations at a local school, arranging a carol service at a retirement home, decorating a hospice with Christmas decorations or simply taking the time to make a difference to people in the local community.
Newlife
After announcing our renewed link-up with our corporate charity Newlife, we will be looking at try and hit out £1.5 million funding total by raising money during the festive season.
Colleagues will be giving up their time and volunteering for the charity at a series of planned events, with a range of other activities also being planned to raise money for the great cause.
Food and clothing banks
Those reading this magazine, our members, customers and colleagues, can also help give a little back by supporting the various food and clothing banks based at our Food stores.
Anyone enjoying a pre-Christmas clean out of their wardrobe can help support someone else this Christmas by dropping off any unwanted items at clothing banks located at selected stores, which will then be reused to help others in need.
Members and customers can also help out this festive season by donating and supporting our food banks.
Whether it be putting an extra item in your basket when instore or putting something aside while making room in the kitchen cupboards, every item will help put a smile on the face of someone going hungry at this time of year.
Christmas Community Dividend
A total of 26 charities and community groups have been handed an early Christmas present after sharing £42,555 in the latest payout from the Christmas Community Dividend Fund.
A diverse range of projects picked from across 16 counties have been handed a festive funding boost, with the largest single amount given being £5,000.
The latest round of grants were handed to a variety of good causes including churches, schools and bowls clubs.
Grants of between £100 and £5,000 are handed out every three months to a wide range of applicants as part of the Community Dividend Fund.
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.
Find out more about ‘Do Just One Thing’ and everything else Central England Co-operative does in the community by visiting https://communities.centralengland.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 2015/16.
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.
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 / Jo Baldock at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140
Email – publicrelations@centralengland.coop