Co-op VE Day plea for people to stay safe and celebrate at home
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 05/05/2020
Central England Co-op is urging people to mark VE Day by staying safe and enjoying an indoor, rather than outdoor street party.
To mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day, millions of people planned to head out into their communities and enjoy street parties as part of the special bank holiday.
However, the Coronavirus outbreak now means people have to get creative and find ways to mark the occasion in their home or garden.
Colleagues from Central England Co-op food stores are today taking the opportunity to encourage people to stay home unless absolutely necessary this VE Day as they work to provide food and essentials for their communities.
They have been going above and beyond to support their communities as the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic continues to alter the public’s day to day lives by ensuring food stores remain open and stocked with food and vital essentials.
It is now hoped people will forgo any thoughts of holding a street party or venturing out to celebrate and only go out for their groceries or daily exercise, should they need to.
Brad Tuckfield, Store Manager at Central England Co-op Food Store, said: “We are proud to serve our local community during these unprecedented times, ensuring they have their food and essentials.
“We all understand the significance of these celebrations and the fact that it is a bank holiday, but we urge people to only leave home for vital essentials or for their daily exercise.
“It might be tempting to visit friends and family or even to hold a street party, but to help keep us all safe and healthy please stay safe and enjoy VE Day celebrations in your home or garden.
“I have to leave my home this bank holiday – you don’t have to. Stay home, protect front line workers and save lives.”
Central England Co-op has also produced a special downloadable VE Day themed colouring sheet to help keep youngsters entertained during the festivities.
Central England Co-op Funeralcare has been on hand to support the families of heroes who fought for their country during the past 75 years.
On VE Day, colleagues in over 130 Funeral Homes will be taking part in the planned two-minute silence to honour all those they had the privilege of taking on their final journey.
To download the sheet or find out more about Central England Co-op is doing in your community to support people impacted by the Coronavirus visit www.centralengland.coop/updates
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 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