Ten groups in Northamptonshire share £21,630 in 2019 thanks to the Central England Co-op Community Dividend Fund

Posted by rob smyth | Published: 26/12/2019

Ten groups, good causes and charities across Northamptonshire shared £21,630 during 2019 thanks to a donation from Central England Co-op’s Community Dividend Fund.

A diverse range of projects were handed a funding boost during the past 12 months, with the largest single amount given being £5,000.

In total, 114 organisations spread out across 16 counties shared a funding pot of £177,885

In Northamptonshire, the project awarded funding included:

• Action for Asperger’s, based in Corby, has been awarded £4,050 to pay for the creation of special bags filled with sensory toys as part of its work offering specialist autism counselling for all ages.
• A total of £2,500 has been handed to Desborough Men’s Shed Association to help support the community work undertaken by the group.
• Desborough Library has been handed £2,080 to buy all the items needed to create a community cinema for people of all ages.
• Thrapston and District U3A will spend £1,250 on the unique technology to allow people with hearing and mobility difficulties to take part in a wide range of fun educational trips across the county.

Everyone from schools and churches to support groups and volunteer organisations 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.

Grants of between £100 and £5,000 are handed out every three months to a wide range of applicants.

Debbie Robinson, Chief Executive of Central England Co-operative, said: “We have handed out £177,885 to projects in our communities in 2019 – with £21,630 of that being right here in Northamptonshire.

 “The Community Dividend Fund 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, which will make the local area 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 Fund scheme during the coming 12 months.”

People can apply for funding by visiting https://communities.centralengland.coop/

Notes to editors

Picture caption: Groups from across Northamptonshire celebrate being awarded grants from Central England Co-op’s Community Dividend Fund in 2019.

Below is a full breakdown of all the grants awarded in the area and quotes from some of the groups:

Brigstock Village Community Group will be able to keep people informed about local events with a new £950 notice board – which will be placed right outside the Central England Co-op Food Store in Brigstock.

Steph Beckett and Glenda Stephen, from the group, said: “Our community group is grateful to the Central England Co-operative Community Dividend for the generous grant for a notice board. 

“The store is right in the heart of the village; therefore it is quite the hub of the community with people coming and going, even acting as a meeting point.

“The notice board will be the heart of ‘what’s on’ in this vibrant social community and will be an asset to all the organisations who use it.” 

Action for Asperger’s, based in Corby, has been awarded £4,050 to pay for the creation of special bags filled with sensory toys as part of its work offering specialist autism counselling for all ages.

The toys are used to relieve heightened emotional states and are for people aged from five up to 100 years old.

Elaine Nicholson, from Action for Asperger’s, said: “The money will be used to purchase sensory SOS bags for our clients. These bags are holdalls that contain soothing sensory items such as fidget toys.  These are specialist items that are used by stressed autistic individuals as a means to prevent escalation into often-dangerous fight and flight activity.  Needless to say, they will aid the mental health of lives affected by the experience of autism enormously.”

A total of £2,500 has been handed to Desborough Men’s Shed Association to help support the community work undertaken by the group.

The innovative project supports people who are retired and unemployed by teaching them a range of skills at the same time as trying to preserve, protect and improve their health.

John Dale, from the project, said: “Being awarded £2,500 towards equipping our new facilities is a great help. The funding will go towards purchasing equipment which will provide a safer and cleaner workshop environment.”

A grant of £3,200 will be used to buy a range of items to support the project including an eco-toilet, wooden shed, disabled ramps, seats and various pieces of hardware.

Service Six, in Wellingborough, provides support for vulnerable and disadvantaged children, young people and adults during times of crisis.

A total of £2,950 has been awarded to the group for a specialist piece of software – Lamplight Spotlight – that will allow the organisation to easily and quickly manage cases involving users.

Fundraiser Brian Drury, from Service Six, said: “This wonderful donation will allow us to buy a new management system that will ensure our team spend less time on administration and more time helping local people.”

Desborough Library has been handed £2,080 to buy all the items needed to create a community cinema for people of all ages.

John Hodder, from the library, said: “One of our aims is to provide opportunities for the community that don’t exist at the moment and to ensure these endure for future generations. Establishing a community cinema in the library will contribute significantly to this.”

Accommodation Concern will use £1,950 to pay for a range of items from desks to chairs to help support its work with the homeless and those at risk.

Vine House, in Desborough, is a community day centre that aims to alleviate isolation in and around the area by offering bathing facilities, hot lunches and meals on wheels. They will use £1,500 to pay for a new dishwasher to support its busy kitchen.

Geddington Brickyard Garden works with the local community to create an eco-friendly space in the area that the entire community can use.

Teamwork Trust operates a men’s shed scheme that allows people to undertake woodworking projects and allows people to share their skills and experiences while not being judged.

The money will be used to pay for a variety of tools that will allow those taking part in the project and others to be trained as tutors so they can work with people with learning disabilities.

Vickie Bell, Head of Learning and Development at Teamwork Trust, said: “We’re delighted to have been awarded this grant, which will enable us to re-kit our men’s shed – a workshop space where men can come together to pursue practical interests which improve their health and wellbeing.

“Men typically find it more difficult to build social connections than women, and those who have used our services tell us what a difference it’s made to their self-confidence and mindset.

“Having the most up to date equipment so that service-users can feel really accomplished with their projects is so important, and the £1,200 means we can replace our tools and buy new ones.”

Thrapston and District U3A will spend £1,250 on the unique technology to allow people with hearing and mobility difficulties to take part in a wide range of fun educational trips across the county.

The groups visits a wide range of places including the local Amey recycling campus, Sandringham and the nearby Amazon distribution centre.

Glyn Hill, Access Advisor, said: “Thrapston and District U3A is delighted to have been granted £1,250 by Central England Co-operative for a tour guide system.

“We are a self-help, lifelong learning co-operative for people no longer in full time work. Our 320 plus members share learning experiences in a wide range of interest groups and pursue learning for fun. In a wider context, we see ourselves as providing social support and physical and creative activities for an increasingly ageing population.

“Our aim for the tour guide system is to increase accessibility for a substantial number of our members.”

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, travel shops, 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 2019.

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 member 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 and James Brindle at Central England Co-operative on 01543 421390

Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop