Groups across Staffordshire handed nearly £15,000 in funding by Central England Co-operative
Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 22/09/2016
COMMUNITY groups across Staffordshire are being urged to follow in the footsteps of dozens of organisations across the county who have shared thousands of pounds in funding.
Central England Co-operative is issuing a plea to clubs, charities and schools across the county to apply to its Community Dividend Fund as, in the past year alone, six good causes in the area have shared £15,000 between them.
Grants of between £100 and £5,000 are handed out every three months to a wide range of applicants – more than £55,000 was handed out to 35 good causes in the last payout.
Members who head into selected stores across the county can now enjoy an exclusive offer with 5% off Co-op own brand products for a limited time and help support good causes across Staffordshire as part of the Community Dividend Fund.
The selected stores involved in the special offer include:
• Cannock Road, Burntwood
• Highfields Road, Chasetown
• High Street, Stone
• Stafford Street, Eccleshall
Three groups - Christ Church C of E Primary School, Lichfield City Football Club, and Woodhouse Farm and Garden - shared £7,800 earlier this year.
Rykneld Primary School, in Main Street, Branston, was handed £2,000 to stock the shelves in their newly expanded library.
Eccleshall Football Club and Norton Bridge Family Area both received a share of over £5,000 to pay for a clubhouse refurbishment and an ambitious project to create a new family area for the community.
Councillor Jeremy Pert said at the time of the award: “It is being designed to suit all the families in the local area and everyone is so excited about seeing the family area taking shape, thanks to the support of the
Central England Co-operative.”
Martyn Cheatle, Chief Executive of Central England Co-operative, said: “The Community Dividend reflects a key principle of our society, in that we reward the loyalty of our customers by investing in and supporting local communities.
“I would like to urge all of our members to get in touch and put forward a community cause close to their heart for the Community Dividend scheme.”
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 heading online and visiting https://communities.centralengland.coop/ or heading in store to pick up an application form.
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