Thirty-seven groups in the West Midlands share over £50,000 in 2019 thanks to the Central England Co-op Community Dividend Fund
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 26/12/2019
Thirty-seven groups, good causes and charities across the West Midlands shared £50,915 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 the West Midlands, some of the projects awarded funding included:
- Silkmore Primary Academy will use £2,000 to buy exciting pieces of equipment for its new trim trail project – a scheme that will boost physical activity, mental, emotional and social skills on land at the school.
- A total of £2,750 will be used by The Job Marston Centre, in Hall Green, to buy six new laptops and other equipment that will support a project that aims to provide people with all the skills and support they need to find a job – from setting up an email account to writing a CV.
- Women, girls and disadvantaged groups will now be able to learn to train and work safely after not for profit social enterprise OLDP Community Interest were handed £2,800 to buy a scaffold tower.
- Youngsters who visit Brocton Pre-School Playgroup, in Stafford, will now be able to be more physically active and enjoy healthy lifestyles after being awarded £1,700 to pay for outdoor activity equipment.
- Birmingham Crisis Centre has been handed £3,500 to pay for the complete refurbishment of one of its accommodation units, which provide a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom for female victims of domestic abuse and their children.
- St Georges Knights Powerchair Football Club, based in Burton, provides sessions for people with physical disabilities to participate in sport.
Other good causes to benefit includes art groups, community cinemas, breast care support projects and schemes designed to educate youngsters about the dangers of knife crime.
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 £50,915 of that being right here in the West Midlands.
“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 the West Midlands 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:
Silkmore Primary Academy will use £2,000 to buy exciting pieces of equipment for its new trim trail project – a scheme that will boost physical activity, mental, emotional and social skills on land at the school.
Lichfield City Football Club Junior Section has been handed £750 for new kits for its football team for disabled youngsters.
Sustainability Matters in Stafford will use £830 to help publish a book of poetry created from works by budding adult poets to 100 youngsters who came up with their own haikus.
A total of £2,750 will be used by The Job Marston Centre, in Hall Green, to buy six new laptops and other equipment that will support a project that aims to provide people with all the skills and support they need to find a job – from setting up an email account to writing a CV.
Voluntary managed preschool St Peters Little Fishes, based in Stonnall, has recently moved to new premises and will use £1,170 to pay for everything from bean bags to toys to ensure youngsters have all they need while there.
Sikh Nari Manch, based at the Northside Welcome Centre, has been granted £1,000 for new computers to help 100 disadvantaged locals gain access to technology for the very first time.
West Midlands Kurdish Community Centre will have a brand new PA system and projector to support community events thanks to a £640 grant.
Himaya Haven works with the black, Asian and minority ethnic communities to support families of loved ones in custody and prison.
A £500 grant will pay for new technology that will allow the group to deliver workshops and activities to help people involved deal with the anxieties of arrest, sentencing, imprisonment and release.
Women, girls and disadvantaged groups will now be able to learn to train and work safely after not for profit social enterprise OLDP Community Interest were handed £2,800 to buy a scaffold tower.
Highbury Orchard is a community interest organisation in Moseley that runs programmes helping people to reconnect with nature through gardening, conservation activities and forest school type activities.
They have been awarded £2,500 to buy a brand new yurt that will be used to support a wide range of projects.
Efforts to spruce up the playground at Chase Terrace Primary School, in Burntwood, have been handed a £1,000 funding boost to pay for new equipment.
Birmingham People’s Centre will use £2,000 to buy two new computers and a photocopier to supports its work to offer free employment rights and advice.
Three youth clubs at Elim Life Church have shared £750 to pay for new equipment to support up to 110 children in the Kingstanding area.
Oasis Academy Foundry has been awarded £2,000 to pay for computers and equipment to help people at risk in an area of high social deprivation.
Youngsters who visit Brocton Pre-School Playgroup, in Stafford, will now be able to be more physically active and enjoy healthy lifestyles after being awarded £1,700 to pay for outdoor activity equipment.
Open Trail, based in Kidderminster, will use £1,450 to pay for a new trailer to support a range of different projects.
Birmingham Crisis Centre has been handed £3,500 to pay for the complete refurbishment of one of its accommodation units, which provide a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom for female victims of domestic abuse and their children.
The money will pay for redecorating, kitchen units, sink, cooker, bathroom, shower and fixtures and fittings.
St Georges Knights Powerchair Football Club, based in Burton, provides sessions for people with physical disabilities to participate in sport.
The group currently has two powerchairs and will use a grant of £2,000 towards buying two more.
Arts charity Black Country Touring will use £900 to pay for a new laptop that will form part of an ambitious community cinema project. The project works across 13 venues in Sandwell, Wolverhampton and Dudley and provide a pop up cinema experience as part of an effort to cut levels of social isolation and loneliness by allowing people to come together enjoy, share and discuss film.
A similar scheme, operated by Screen B14, has been given £1,200 for a new projector as part of an expansion effort to offer its film screenings to more people including those who are hard of hearing, those with disabilities and homeless people.
A £2,000 grant will be used by Brushstrokes Community Project, in Smethwick, to support its busy community café. The money will be used to buy new kitchen equipment, chairs and tables to ensure the group can provide hot and nutritious food for people in need.
Rising Stars, based in Aston, works with young people from all backgrounds to help them fulfil their potential and pursue a passion for sport, in particular football.
The group will use a total of £1,095 to buy a new pair of portable metal goal posts to support a specialist programme aimed at diverting young people away from drugs alcohol, gang culture and knife crime by using sport as a diversion.
Stafford Stallions Football Club will use £650 to pay for a new kit.
Butterflies Breast Care Support Group has been handed £200 in food vouchers to promote healthy eating.
InUnity, a group which works with youngsters in the Billesley area of Birmingham, has been handed £520 to pay for a camera and sewing machine to support a creative arts project.
A total of £1,000 will be used by New Heights Warren Farm Community Project to spruce up a community café.
Quinborne Community Association will spend £1,980 on converting a room at its site in Ridgeacre Road to cater for the elderly so that it can provide a drop-in/information room and provide courses.
Fox Hollies Shed, which is a place for isolated people to meet and take part in practical activities, has been handed a grant of £950 to pay for a selection of power tools for its members.
Lichfield Arts will spend £670 on new lighting to support community concerts and festivals.
Chuckle Productions, based in Stone, has been awarded £2,290 to pay for a range of sensory materials so severely disabled children can enjoy a range of fun activities.
Bethany Community Outreach, near Erdington, will be able to continue its work to help people at risk of food poverty after being handed £2,000 to pay for new fridges and freezers that will allow for food donated via its food bank to be kept for longer.
Citizens Advice Staffordshire South West, based in Stafford, will buy two laptops and two desktop computers with a £1,870 grant to help people in the area by offering money and debt advice.
Lichfield and District Soroptimists will partner with the Buddy Bag Foundation and use £1,250 to help create special bags for children who are part of families impacted by domestic abuse.
Birmingham-based A Way Forward Foundation will use its £1,000 grant to support its great work in educating youngsters about the impact and danger of knife crime.
Gartmore Riding School, which works with disabled youngsters, will spend £500 on a new art table and activity board.
Lichfield City Girls under 10s and Maypole Football Club, in Birmingham, will both be wearing new kits this season after each receiving a £750 grant.
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