Football club revamp in Eccleshall now complete thanks to near £2,500 boost
Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 01/03/2017
An effort to attract new members at an amateur football club in Eccleshall has been boosted after the official opening of refurbished facilities paid for in part by a near £2,500 Community Dividend grant from Central England Co-operative.
Representatives from Eccleshall Football Club welcomed colleagues from the Society’s Stafford Street Food Store to see the completed work that has transformed and refurbished its clubhouse following the £2,478 grant.
Stafford Street Food Store manager John James said: “We are all so proud that a grant from our Community Dividend Fund has been used to boost a vital resource in Eccleshall.
“The Community Dividend reflects a key principle of our society, in that we reward the loyalty of our customers by investing in and supporting our local community.”
The grant was one of 89 handed out during the past 12 months – worth a combined £160,000.
Grants of between £100 and £5,000 are handed out every three months to a wide range of applicants.
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.
Funds for the project also came from the Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Staffordshire County Council member Frank Chapman, Eccleshall Parish Council, and an anonymous donor.
Bob Lloyd, from Eccleshall Football Club, said: “We are totally indebted to our local community bodies that in total have provided £6,500 to enable us to carry out essential clubhouse repairs.
“The donated funds have been spent replacing the external wall of the clubhouse and refurbishment of areas within the clubhouse to provide a pleasant and comfortable environment for both our and visiting supporters
“CCTV and alarms have been installed together with other security measures to help safeguard our clubhouse and external storage facilities.
“A huge thank you must go to Central England Co-operative, Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Staffordshire County Council member Frank Chapman,
Eccleshall Parish Council and an anonymous supporter who collectively have helped make a dream become a reality at Eccleshall Football Club.”
Staffordshire Police & Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis said: “Clubs and voluntary organisations often have a tough time securing funds. The commissioner’s People Power Fund is providing some funding towards improving crime prevention, this will not only help an important community organisation, it will protect the premises
better meaning less demand for policing.”
Frank Chapman, Staffordshire county councillor, said: “The council is delighted to join partners in supporting Eccleshall Football Club through the Local Community Fund. We wish the club every success in the future.”
A spokesman for Eccleshall Parish Council said: “The sports clubs in Eccleshall are an important part of the community. The parish council welcomed the opportunity to assist with funding.”
People can apply for Central England Co-operative Community Dividend funding by heading online and visiting https://communities.centralengland.coop/ or heading in store to pick up an application form.
Potential applicants have to have been a Central England Co-operative member for six months, the project should be in the trading area of a Central England Co-operative store and all applications will
Notes to editors
Picture caption: Representatives from Central England Co-operative and Eccleshall Football Club celebrated the completion of works to refurbish the clubhouse following a grant from the Society’s Community Dividend Fund.
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 2017.
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.
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 http://www.centralengland.coop follo,w Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative
Rob Smyth – PR officer - Central England Co-operative - 01543 414140
Email – publicrelations@centralengland.coop