Lichfield charities and groups handed share of £160,000 community fund in 2016
Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 30/12/2016
Central England Co-operative can today reveal that it has helped change the lives of 89 groups and charities – by donating nearly £160,000 from its Community Dividend Fund in 2016.
A diverse range of projects picked from across 16 counties were handed a funding boost during the past 12 months, with the largest single amount given being £5,000.
Everyone from Scout groups to football clubs and churches to schools benefited from the fund that 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 from the Midlands to the East Coast.
Martyn Cheatle, Chief Executive of Central England Co-operative, said: “We have handed out nearly £160,000 to projects in our communities in 2016 and over £2 million since the scheme was established in 2007.
“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.
“The scheme helps to benefit a wide variety of projects, with grants between £100 to a £5,000, which will make the communities that we serve a better place for our members to live, work and visit.
“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.”
In the past 12 months, several projects have shared thousands of pounds in and around Lichfield as part of the community Dividend Fund.
Members of Whittington Blades Football Team under 9s were delighted to receive funding to help pay for new kits for the up and coming team.
Carl Evans, from Whittington Blades, said: “Winning the Central England Co-operative Community Dividend Fund meant so much to our boys.
“The Whittington Blades are a hard working dedicated group of under nine year old boys who love playing football, learning and improving their skills each
week.
“This funding opportunity meant that we can not only provide them with a full away kit, but much needed rain jackets as the weather turns to winter.
“We are proud to be associated with Central England Co-operative and are thrilled to be part of their Community Dividend Fund and look forward to be part of a winning team together.”
Christ Church C of E Primary School, based in Christchurch Lane, were handed £5,000 as part of an ambitious project to create an all-weather outdoor area.
The scheme is based around enhancing learning for pupils outside the classroom and also to supplement the focus on PE and extra-curricular clubs at the school.
Lichfield City Football Club, based off Eastern Avenue, was handed £2,000 to pay for a collection of new footballs to be used by 21 teams across all age groups.
Woodhouse Farm and Garden, based in Fisherwick Wood, is a community farm project based around sustainably.
The scheme was handed £800 towards ongoing work to improve the site.
Annamarie Stone, from Woodhouse Farm, said: “The donation from the Central England Co-op will be used towards building work changing an old piggery into a new community building.”
People can apply for 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 need a referee.
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 2016/17.
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 – PR officer - Central England Co-operative - 01543 414140
Email – publicrelations@centralengland.coop