Find out how community grant is making a big impact at Birmingham cancer charity

Posted by rob smyth | Published: 11/05/2018

Central England Co-op’s Community Dividend Fund continues to have a major impact on a charity launched in memory of an 11-year-old cancer fund-raiser in Birmingham – two years after handing over £3,500.

Help Harry Help Others was launched to continue the legacy started by Harry Moseley, a youngster who dedicated his life to helping others before he passed away after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.

The charity received the funding award in 2016 to help pay for new equipment to help support parents and families affected by any type of cancer at a purpose built drop-in centre.

The funding was used to buy a giant sofa as part of an effort to create a ‘home form home’ environment at the specialist bereavement support drop-in centre.

Now, two years on, the sofa forms the centrepiece of the facility and is used every single day by visitors of all ages.

In the last year alone it has played a part in helping over 3,000 people and 400 families as they or their loved ones battle cancer.

Georgina Moseley, Harry’s mum, spoke of the major impact the funding continues to have on the charity.

She said: “The focal point of the centre is the sofa and it is used daily for many emotional support sessions and really helps cancer patients and their families relax.

“It enables many people to relax, which in turn helps as part of the process to getting people to open up and speak about what is going on in their lives.

“We see, on average, 63 people a week and nearly every single one makes use of the sofa – a piece of equipment we simply would not have been able to buy without Central England Co-op and the Community Dividend Fund.

“The fund helped us to create a 'home from home' space which in return has the most impact on patients and their families as the environment really helps them to relax and offload - which is the very purpose of what we are here to support.”

The drop-in centre has now moved to a brand new building and the charity is looking to continue to grow even further with the launch of a special academy to help train carers in what they might face when working with someone who has cancer.

People can find out more about how Central England Co-op has helped Help Harry Help Others by watching this specially produced video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZm1pR1kzw4&t=73s

Grants like this – ranging from 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.

People can apply for funding 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 the Society’s principal areas of activity being food, funeral services, 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