Co-op community fund awards £5,816 cash boost to four groups in Norfolk and Suffolk to ensure vital work continues to help those in need

Posted by rob smyth | Published: 29/06/2020


Central England Co-op has shared out £5,816 between four good causes in Norfolk and Suffolk to ensure they can continue their vital community work during the Coronavirus outbreak.

A wide range of charities and community organisations were delighted to receive the funding boost during these uncertain times, with a total of £31,000 handed out to 22 groups across 16 counties from the retailer’s Community Dividend Fund.

The money will now be spent by charities and organisations to ensure that events, activities and support that otherwise might have been postponed or cancelled can still go ahead and provide a vital boost to the local community.

Nelson’s Journey, based in Norwich, supports children and young people who have experienced the death of a special person in their life.

It will use £1,876 to pay for special books to be produced and sent out to youngsters as part of work to help them deal with grief.

Chief Executive Simon Wright said: “We’re very grateful to  Central England Co-operative for supporting Nelson’s Journey’s work with bereaved families at this time.

“Their funding will allow us to provide families with a wide range of special books and publications that they can use at home to support their children following the death of a significant person.

“Our Child Bereavement Support Workers will be able to talk over with bereaved families how best to make use of these resources at home to help their children at difficult times. Thank you so much to the Central England Co-operative for making this work possible.”

Pink House Arts, based in Oundle, has been awarded £2,440 to provide a range of activities and create craft boxes for adults suffering with mental health problems during lockdown.

1st Blofield and Brundall Sea Scout Group will spend £750 to pay for a new slipway at its base in Yarmouth Road, Blofield.

James Page, from the group, said: “The grant has enabled us to replace the existing wooden slipway with a more robust concrete version as part of the replacement of the quay heading at our water activities base in Brundall. 

“The slipway is a key part of the operation at the water base allowing our young people and leaders to launch and recover sailing dinghies safely as part of the water activities that are run from Easter through to the start of Autumn every year - no slipway, no sailing!”

St Andrews Cricket Club, in Norwich, will use £750 for new kit and equipment for when the season resumes.

St Andrews Cricket Club secretary Nathan Chinman said: “This is a tremendous boost for the club, especially at a time when recreational cricket has been severely impacted by COVID-19.”

Debbie Robinson, Central England Co-op Chief Executive, said: “Now more than ever being a co-operative business that sits at the heart of our communities is so important.

“We are delighted that these great projects and good causes have been handed a grant that will allow them to continue their fantastic work in the community at this uncertain time.

“Community Dividend Fund grants like this showcase how by being a member and shopping at your local Central England Co-op store allows us as a Society to continue to invest and fund vital projects in the area.”

 

Notes to editors

Picture caption: Central England Co-op’s Community Dividend Fund has shared out £31,000 to good causes to help ease the impact of the Coronavirus.

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral, travel and property investment.

Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish. 

Our 7,900 colleagues who serve Members and customers work hard to ensure that co-operative values, principles and spirit flow through everything we do to help support and improve our local communities.

Owned by hundreds of thousands of Members, we have 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.

We are proud of our reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.

We invest a percentage of our trading profit into local communities through our Community Dividend Fund scheme, have donated over £1.3 million to our corporate charity partner Dementia UK and also operate a pioneering food redistribution partnership with FareShare Midlands so unsold food goes to those in need.

Visit www.centralengland.coop for more information or follow us on Facebook or Twitter using @mycoopfood

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

Phone - 01543 421390

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop